Returning Home
by themrs
Summary: Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts after a year hidden away at the Burrow following Voldemort's demise. He brings some unexpected baggage that changes the lives of more than just him. Slash/mpreg/romance
1. Chapter 1

He was finally home again, but the pit in Harry Potter's stomach wasn't lessening. He had taken a chance to return to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft & Wizardry after a year hidden away after Voldemort's defeat. A chance that could hurt or benefit more than just him. There he stood, pacing outside of the Great Hall and willing himself the nerve to walk through the double doors into the room that had awed and sent his stomach into a familiar rhythm 8 years earlier. The feeling remained the same, yet everything, everything, had changed.

"Harry, my boy," said a familiar voice behind him, "I have been waiting for your arrival since I finally got your owl in reply to my offer."

"Sorry that it took so long for me to get back to you, sir," Harry explained with a smile "I had a lot of things to consider. I was hoping that we could sit down in your office and iron out a few details that I didn't really want to owl about."

"Of course, Harry, but let's sit down for a nice lunch first and we can get you settled."

Eyes twinkling madly, Albus Dumbledore slipped his arm around Harry and guided him through the heavy doors into the Great Hall. Empty except for a large circular table in the front of the hall, Harry couldn't help but smile when he saw the familiar faces of several of his former professors. Students would not arrive for two more weeks, but the professors were beginning to settle back into life at Hogwarts from their summer vacations.

"HARRY!" yelled the excitable half giant who jumped up from his seat next to Professor Sprout "Professor Dumbledore didn't say you would be visiting! What a surprise this is, a surprise I tell you."

"Rubeus, Harry and I only ironed out the details last week, but he will be taking over the Defense against the Dark Arts position at my request."

"Oh, what a smart idea, Headmaster. There is not a soul who would be better at that then our Harry here."

Even at nineteen and far from innocent, Harry blushed at the compliment from his first magical friend. "Thanks, Hagrid. I'm happy to be back."

A throat cleared and the dry, professorial voice of Minerva McGonagall spoke up from the group around the table.

"Mr. Potter, I take it that you are the surprise that Albus promised us today."

Though her words were formal, her bemused smile welcomed Harry, one of her favorite lions, with warmth and a grandmotherly pride.

"Yes, Minerva, Harry is one of the surprises I have in store for the upcoming term, and I think that Harry himself will have a surprise or two to share when he is ready," muttered Dumbledore with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.

Harry nodded and accepted the smiles and handshakes from around the table as he sat himself down for lunch, which already overflowed with food. It was with this group of people who had known him since he was 11 years old that he felt comfortable and like he could be more than the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the defeater of Voldemort. He did not doubt that his status as the hero of the wizarding world had guaranteed that the school board could not deny his hiring, despite only being a year out of Hogwarts himself, but Harry knew that he would be an excellent teacher. Some of his fondest memories of Hogwarts were in the Room of Requirements where he lead Dumbledore's Army and taught his classmates to defend themselves. Regardless of his complicated and painful memories of the final battle, he knew that the defense lessons in that room had saved many of his classmates and Voldemort's death did not stop the need to teach students how to protect themselves. Especially with death eaters still at large.

Harry was interrupted from his thoughts by Professor McGonagall nudging him besides her, "How is Miss Granger, Mr. Potter? She is often in my thoughts and I have spent the last year trying to convince her to serve as my apprentice."

"Hermione is getting stronger every day, Professor. After we lost Ron, she...I guess she reconsidered what she wants out of her life and has been trying to come to terms with everything that has happened in the last year. She has been there for me in the last year like no one else. Neither of us have much left the Burrow over the last couple of months. The Weasleys wanted to keep the whole family close after losing Ron and Fred," Harry's voice trailed off still having a hard time talking about the death of two of his closest friends. Truthfully, Hermione had all but broken down after the final battle. Only pulling herself together to take care of Harry and the Weasleys. She needed more than that though. She needed to move on with her life. "I think that she might be close to accepting your offer soon, ma'am. Just keep pushing. She gets that little excited look every time you owl."

With a knowing look, the Scotswoman looked pleased with his obvious maturity gained over the last year. "Enough of this ma'am business, Mr. Potter. Now that you are a Professor here, please call me Minerva. I think that we know each other well enough by now."

"I will try, ma'am." Harry replied with a devilish grin that wasn't lost on the head of Gryffindor.

Harry enjoyed his lunch back in the castle and was beginning to feel the butterflies abate slightly. As he watched several of the faculty members leave politely to return to their offices and continue preparations for the school year, Harry smiled and trusted that he had made the right decision in taking the DADA job. He could make a difference as a teacher, but have a flexible schedule that being an auror would not allow. Merlin knows that Hogwarts is never dull, so he would be able to have some excitement in his life, but still be home every night for dinner. Hogwarts was the first home that he had ever known. Where he first learned to fly; met the people who he considered his family; where fell in love for the first and only time. _This is where I want to raise my son._


	2. Chapter 2

As he sat around the lunch table with the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall, Harry's mind wandered to the previous summer. Riddle and his death eaters attacked Hogwarts' grounds through the Forbidden Forest on Harry's 18th birthday. Harry and most of the Order of the Phoenix had remained at Hogwarts after his graduation to plan and prepare for ending the war. The numbers of the Order at swollen so high that they could no longer hold meetings in the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place, which Harry had inherited from his godfather upon Sirius' death. Hogwarts' summer reprieve from students allowed for the Order to set up headquarters in the Great Hall temporarily.

The Room of Requirement, which had been the perfect training ground for Dumbledore's Army, became the place where Harry was prepared to fulfill his destiny. Remus, Dumbledore, Bill Weasley, Kingsley, and Snape all took turns spending hours teaching him defensive as well as offensive magic. In the six weeks between his graduation and the final battle, Harry was trained twelve hours a day, every day, and was far beyond the curriculum that would have been required of him in the two year Auror program run by the Ministry. It would be difficult to argue that Harry was not one of the foremost experts in dark magic and defense in the entire wizarding world now, though he still did not have it in himself to cast an Unforgiveable.

Killing Voldemort with a simple Expelliarmus after an epic battle was almost unbelievable to Harry. His training during his final two years at Hogwarts and the weeks he spent holed up in the Room of Requirements had prepared him to last several hours battling death eaters on the grounds of Hogwarts and to use whatever was in his considerable power to defeat Voldemort, but he was never trained to deal with the loss. Ron stood next to him for most of the battle, even watched Fred collapse from a killing curse from Amycus Carrow, and refused to leave Harry's side despite Harry's urging. There was not a moment when he was not flanked by Ron and Hermione, in battle and in life. When he saw Ron drop beside him and not get back up, it took a minute to look behind him and see Bellatrix Lestrange with her wand still out pointing at his lifeless best mate. Harry couldn't even raise his wand before Hermione had killed her with one flick of her wrist. Harry had looked into Hermione's eyes and saw the pain and fury there; she had lost not only her best friend, but her fiancé, the man she loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Harry's eyes swam with tears as he approached Voldemort on the quidditch pitch; he was resolved to end it, to revenge those that they had lost in the war- Ron, Fred, Remus, Tonks, Sirius...all his family- and less than twenty minutes after their wands came together for the first time, Tom Riddle was gone.

Harry turned around in triumph to face the crowd flanking him on the pitch. Hermione, Dumbledore, McGonagall, the remaining Weasleys, and the surviving members of the DA and the Order stared back at him and all understood that nothing about that day would ever be celebrated - too much was lost. Harry's eyes frantically scanned the group until the settled on the one person he needed to feel that his world was not spinning off its axis. His eyes locked on the obsidian pools that Harry knew had watched and protected him during the entire battle. Knowing that despite the feeling of mourning that constricted his chest, everything was going to be alright, Harry only said one word before collapsing, "Peace."

***

When Harry woke up in the Infirmary some indistinguishable time after the Final Battle, he was relieved to realize that it was not a dream and Voldemort was gone for good. Luckily, he was placed in a private room, likely to avoid the reporters and gawkers who were trying to get a glimpse of the boy-who-lived-yet-again. Hermione was in bed next to him with her arm in a magical cast, but otherwise no longer looking bruised and bloody. He pulled her closer when he saw the clear tear tracks under her chocolate brown eyes, which swam with tears as he looked down upon her. They stared at each other for several minutes, not needing to say what they were both thinking. They no longer had Ron's comedic relief to pull them from the depths of their own thoughts; Ron was gone and the thought of living without him drowned them both in grief.

"Welcome back to the world, Mr. Potter," commented the obviously exhausted medi-witch at the doorway. "I am happy to say that though you are obviously magically and physically exhausted, you will be mostly fine."

"Mostly fine? What does that mean exactly?" questioned Harry, who was starting to sit up on the hospital bed, but not letting Hermione out of his embrace.

"Why don't I come back in a couple of hours after Miss Granger has gone back to her room and we can discuss it?"

Harry was starting to panic; maybe he hadn't deflected all of the major hexes that were shot at him during the battle. There might be some lasting curse that he would have to live with.

"No, I need to know what is wrong NOW. Anything that is wrong with me you can talk about in front of Hermione. There isn't anything I don't tell her."

"OK...Mr. Potter," choked the ever-professional medi-witch "You're pregnant. About three weeks along. Don't ask me how the baby was able to survive the level of magical output that you just went through, but apparently he or she is a survivor."

Madam Pomfrey's admission awoke Hermione from her stupor and caused Harry to gasp in shock, just prior to fainting into the white sheets of the hospital bed.

"Dear Merlin," muttered Madam Pomfrey, "It is always the men who go into such hysterics. I mean, honestly...you never see witches reacting in such a manner. Miss Granger just let him sleep it off and come find me when he wakes again. I need to explain to him about the pre-natal potions and the like."

***

Harry smiled to himself when he thought back into that afternoon in the hospital wing, four days after the final battle when he had finally awoken from the magical coma that his own body had put himself into, to protect his own magic and his son that grew within him. Eighteen and shockingly pregnant, but when Harry woke up he knew that the baby that would enter his life in a little over eight months was a gift. _Rebirth_ after the tragedy. Joy for himself and his family to cling to...his family.

His son's family wouldn't be complete until he tracked down his other father. Every time Harry thought of him, he choked back the unshed tears that permanently threatened to fall. His protector, his foundation, and in the two months before the final battle - Harry's lover. _Where are you, Sev?_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This is just for fun. I don't own HP or any of his kingdom, sadly.

A/N: I'm a first time contributor, so I would love your suggestions. I will try to write more drama into the story, but I have a feeling that this series is going to run long. I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

The Headmaster could see the quiet pain swim beneath the surface of Harry's face, and knew that only one thing would shake him out of it. "Harry, my boy, why don't we go at get you settled in your quarters before your guest joins you. It has been quite some time since we have had children in the castle, but I think that you will find the family quarters on the second floor are more than adequate for young Mr. Potter to grow into."

"Thank you, sir. He doesn't take up much space currently, but it will be good for him to have the growing room. If George keeps sending toys to him from the shop, Molly was going to have to create a second playroom for Evan and Victoire."

Bill and Fleur's daughter had been born only a few weeks before Evan and the babies were what kept Molly and the rest of the family from sinking too far into their grief. When Victoire Frederique and Evan Ronald joined the family in March and April respectively, some of the light that left the Burrow with Ron and Fred began to shine again. Though not even five months old, Evan had charmed not only his Daddy, but the rest of his extended family with the bright green eyes, pale skin, and full head of black, silky hair. Harry had not told anyone other than Hermione who Evan's other father was, but it wouldn't be long before they started putting two and two together. There was no doubt when looking at the infant that he was going to grow into a perfect combination of his two fathers.

***  
Harry had never noticed the hallway that jutted off the corridor between the DADA professor's office and the staircase that sent visitor's either up to the Headmaster's tower or directly to the dungeons. _Magic. It probably was never visible until there was a need for it._

Wandering down the light-filled corridor, Harry smiled as he thought of Evan running beside him in a few years. The idea of his son growing up surrounded by Hogwarts' magic warmed Harry's heart and he knew that he had made the right decision in leaving the comfort of the Burrow.

The Headmaster slowed down in front of a picture of students playing quidditch with the castle and the Black Lake in the background. "The password is currently "April 8th" in honor of young Mr. Potter's birth, but you will likely want to switch it to something a bit more difficult to ascertain."

After uttering the words, Harry stepped into the great room that was immediately inside the doors. His jaw dropped at the light, open living quarters that the castle had provided Harry and his son. The comfortable looking living room furniture was centered around the fireplace and hearth with marble inlays that matched the tiles in the elegant and efficient kitchen to the right of the entry way. There was both a breakfast bar and a respectably sized dining table where he could imagine serving not only Evan and himself meals, but any family or friends that dropped by as well. The entire south facing wall on the opposite side of the great room was floor to ceiling picture windows looking out onto the quidditch pitch and the Black Lake.

"If I had known that all I had to do to get these rooms was get pregnant, I would have done it years ago, Headmaster," Harry joked lightly to avoid the emotion that was welling up in his chest. "Thank you, sir. They are more than I could have imagined, and I know that Evan will have plenty of room when he starts running around."

"I will leave you to get settled in, my boy. The bedrooms and bathrooms are through that hallway, and I have already keyed the floo to be connected to the Burrow, Grimmauld Place, and my office. Feel free to come by anytime, Harry. I expect to be seeing a lot of both you and Evan, especially since I have seen so little of you over the last year."

"I'm sorry, Headmaster. It was hard for me to come back here for awhile after the final battle, but I have come to peace with it now. I want to raise my son and help prepare the next generation to protect the light, just as you prepared me."

Eyes twinkling madly, Albus Dumbledore put a hand on Harry's shoulders, which nearly came up to his own now. "I know, Harry. I would have liked to know about Evan prior to his birth, but I understand why you kept that from everyone other than the Weasleys with so many death eaters still at large. It will be a surprise to many when you walk into the Great Hall with your son, but it is time to introduce your family to the world, my boy. We will do everything we can to protect you both."

"Thank you, sir."

"I think you have earned calling me Albus, as the other staff members do. There are few who I am as close with as I am to you."

"It is an honor, Albus. I hope you don't mind if Evan calls you "Grandpa Albus" when he is old enough to talk, it is what I have started calling you when I tell him about my adventures as a student here."

The headmaster's blue eyes twinkled more than even Harry thought possible at that request. "Now, THAT would be an honor, Harry. You both are family to me, as the Miss Granger and the Weasleys are to you and Minerva and Severus have always been to me."

The mention of Severus' name sent a surge of emotion into Harry's heart. _Will you ever know our beautiful son? When I hold Evan at night, I can practically feel your arms around us._

Albus had never asked about Evan's other father, but the look in his eyes told Harry that it wasn't as well kept a secret as Harry thought. After his graduation, it was hard not to notice all of the time that Harry spent with Severus. Beyond the hours of training, Harry could usually be found curled up on the couch in Snape's quarters in the dungeon. Reading or napping after an exhaustive day of dueling. It was the only place in the months before the war where Harry felt like _Harry_, protected, even maybe a little bit loved. Everywhere else he was expected to be a leader, confident that he would end this war for the better of their world. Everywhere else he was the Savior. In the presence of the sardonic Potion Master, he was able to find quiet in the chaos. He could recharge and face another day as the chosen one.

"Is my honorary grandson going to be joining us in the Great Hall for dinner, Harry?" Albus interrupted Harry's flood of memories.

"No, Hermione is going to floo him over tonight before bed. We thought that I should get settled first and make sure that Evan's room is all set before we transition him away from the Burrow."

"I see. All of the staff will have arrived by dinner tonight, so maybe you should let people know about the little man that is going to be joining us at the head table this year before his introduction in the morning."

Harry nodded in agreement and watched Albus leave his quarters with his fuchsia and orange polka-dotted robes swishing behind him. Chuckling to himself, Harry thought about the sweets and silly outfits that Evan would look forward to every time he went to spend time in _Grandpa Albus'_ office. His son was already so loved.

Harry had happy that he sent his trunks earlier in the week to the castle, as he found much of his clothes and personal items were already put away in the master bedroom at the end of the hallway in his quarters. The room easily fit the king-sized bed, nightstands, and dresser, but still felt warm and cozy. The four-poster bed was dressed in warm ivory and slate blue fabrics that complimented the dark wood of the furniture. Harry had two windows with comfortable looking window seats where he could imagine reading or correcting papers. On the opposite side of the room was a large closet and door that led to a simple, but well-appointed bathroom.

Pleased with his room, Harry examined the other three doors in the hallway. At the center of the hallway was a large bathroom with both a good-sized tub and an enclosed shower. On either side of the bathroom was a door that each led to a smaller bedroom. The room closest to Harry's was already decorated for Evan. Pale green walls with a border of dragons and a crib and changing table. It would serve the infant well, but was large enough for him to continue to enjoy as he grew. Harry couldn't help but fill with warmth at the thought of Evan enjoying the room for years to come. He would have everything Harry didn't - toys, comfort, love, the support of an extended family who only wanted his happiness. The other bedroom was set-up with a twin bed, simple dresser, and a toy box. Harry thought that it would be a great guest room for when his two year old godson Teddy would come to visit. These quarters where more than Harry could have expected and he could see many happy memories being made. _Come on, love, come home. There are so many memories to be made and I don't want you to miss out on too much._

***

When Harry left the hospital wing after a week under the watchful eye of Madam Pomfrey and Hermione, he immediately tried to find Severus. Harry knew that he was physically OK after the final battle, but needed to tell him the news. I guess more like shock him with the news. Harry had known that wizards could get pregnant, but it was almost always a difficult task and required potions to stimulate fertility. To Harry's surprise, Madam Pomfrey shared with him that if two powerful wizards are deeply in love, soul mates really, then unaided pregnancy is possible. Unlikely, but possible. How Harry and Severus had been able to do this with only a few short weeks together flabbergasted Harry and sent a grief-stricken Hermione directly to the library to quickly become an expert in male pregnancy. When Harry went to try and find Severus in the dungeons, he saw the space cleared out of the Potion Master's personal belongings and a note on the mantle addressed to him.

_Potter,_

_I know that you would come here first when you woke up. This letter can be seen and read only by you. I'm sorry that I couldn't be here to celebrate your defeat of Voldemort. Congratulations, I never doubted that you would succeed. Despite your total lack of skill in the fine and noble art of potion making, you surprised me with your commitment to learning about the Dark Arts. You may have a few redeeming qualities after all, Potter. _

_War brings together unlikely bedfellows as allies, and I thank you for bringing some light into the dungeons these last few months. You have the rather annoying_ _ability to ignore all of my derisive comments and do only exactly what you want to do._ _Despite all of my attempts otherwise, I grew to respect and care for you. I had no expectations that this liaison would continue beyond what it was: comfort and unexpected camaraderie. I want only the best for you, and I know that your greasy git of a potions professor is the last thing you need as you enter into the world as a celebrated hero. You deserve every happiness._

_After two decades as a spy and teacher to complete dunderheads (yourself included), I am going to try and see the world. It is your fearless optimism that makes me take a chance to do something I have always dreamed. You will always be in my thoughts._

_Sev_

Hermione found Harry a few hours later still sitting on the floor in front of the Potion Master's former fireplace clutching a piece of parchment in his hand. There could be no doubt about who the other father of Harry's baby was when she saw the genuine sorrow on his face. His eyes were full of tears yet to fall, and his face gave away that he was unable to figure out what to do next. The second her arms surrounded him, Harry broke down. He cried for losing Ron, Fred, Remus, Tonks, even his parents and Sirius, but mostly he cried because he already had failed the child growing inside of him. Eighteen and pregnant and he had absolutely no idea how to find the baby's other parent. He knew that he had to be strong and help Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys get through the loss of their loved ones, but something inside of Harry told him that it was OK to crumble in Hermione's arms this once and she would hold him up.

Hermione somehow got Harry to the Burrow that night and they both moved directly into Ron's old bedroom. No one cared about propriety; the two of them would not leave each other's side for weeks after the final battle. When Harry began to get ill with morning sickness shortly after returning to the burrow, Hermione was there with her newly discovered wealth of knowledge on male pregnancies. When Hermione broke down in the middle of the night after waking from a nightmare, Harry climbed in bed with her and told her that everything would be alright. She held his hand before, during, and after he gathered the Weasleys together and told them that he was pregnant (which in turn broke it to them that he was gay and would never marry Ginny, much to Molly's dismay). She was who placed Evan in his arms for the first time after he had given birth. As his son's godmother and Harry's very best friend, Hermione would always be a central part of his family. The hardest part of taking Dumbledore's offer to return to Hogwarts was knowing that he would not be there to take care of Hermione if she needed him. _She may be the strongest and smartest witch I know, but I like her to be close so I can make sure that she is happy. I couldn't have done any of this without her._

_A/N: Please review! It really motivates me to write for you guys!  
_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This is just for fun. I don't own HP or any of his kingdom sadly.

A/N: I'm a first time contributor, so I would love your suggestions. Enjoy!

* * *

At quarter to six, after nearly three hours of organizing their quarters and putting away the last of his and Evan's belongings, Harry headed to the Great Hall for dinner. Feeling accomplished and settled in his new home, Harry was in good spirits and hoping that he would not get interrogated by the other staff members once he opened up about Evan. Harry had been slowly introducing his son to the world. Obviously the Weasleys, Andromeda Tonks and Teddy, and Albus knew of his recent birth, but Harry still feared the world hearing that Harry Potter has a child. The wizarding world would not judge Harry because he was gay or gave birth to his son, but every dark lord wannabe would forever think that he could prove his worth by attacking the man who killed Voldemort. Harry did not want his son getting hurt because some nut was on a power trip. Regardless of Harry's fears, it was time to have faith and trust that his son would be protected at Hogwarts. Harry planned to be open about his child to both the staff and the students. Evan would never be a secret to be hid away. He would be cherished.

Walking through the doors to the great hall, Harry noticed that room's occupants milling around the staff table in good spirits. As he approached, Harry heard the deep, masculine voice that had never left his mind over the last year. "I am surprised that Albus was able to get an owl to me in the Amazon, but leave it to him...". Harry was frozen, unable to step forward and join the group, but unable to run back to his quarters either. A mixture of heartache and lust ran through Harry, who had finally caught sight of the back of man that the voice belonged to. The Potion Master turned around and froze. Eyes locked, green and black, unable to look anywhere but at each other. Somehow their feet carried them to mere inches apart from the other.

"Potter...I..." the normally eloquent man stammered.

"Hey Sev, I've been hoping you would come home." Harry's listened to his voice in disbelief because it didn't seem to give away that his heart was beating wildly and his knees were knocking together. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Attempting a casual demeanor, Harry asked "What brings you back to Hogwarts?"

"Ah...um...Albus tracked me down and asked that I return to my old post. Apparently my replacement didn't terrorize the children in quite the manner I do, which led to some lab safety problems. I believe that my potions lab was blown up six times..._before Christmas_. Albus' constant owls with tales of the state of my lab and supplies eventually wore me down."

"He does have a way of getting what he wants."

"I take it that your presence here is at Albus' request as well? Let me guess - Defense? That isn't even a question I guess."

"Of course, Professor. I was taught by the best and since **I** am now the best, he required my assistance."

"It's good to hear that you still think very fondly of yourself, Potter." Severus commented with a trace of humor.

"Ahhh...listen. I need to talk to you about something, do you think you could come by my rooms after dinner. I wouldn't ask when you are just getting back, but it really can't wait."

"I believe that I can make myself available. Where are you staying?"

"2nd floor hallway across from the DADA office, My door has the quidditch painting."

"Of course it does." Severus said with a smirk. His eyes again locked with Harry's and neither man moved away from the other. Harry took in the man in front of him - long, lean and tan with his silky black locks tied at the nape of his neck. Severus Snape had never looked better in Harry's memory. Instead of his usual buttoned up conservative robes that he favored when brewing, Sev had a loose open robe over dark muggle jeans and a tight black polo shirt. There was not a single nasty nickname that the students had used in the past that could apply to the man who had returned to Hogwarts._ "_We should probably stop being reclusive in the corner and join the others for dinner."

Harry barely remembered anything that happened during the hour-long dinner. Sitting to his left, Minerva attempted to make conversation with Harry several times about quidditch and Gryffindor classmates of his, but was only answered monosyllabically. Equally odd, Severus, a young man who she doted on as a son, a rather annoying son who never listened to her, but a son nonetheless, seemed to be uncharacteristically off balance during the dinner hour. Minerva could smell that something was up with the two unexpected additions to the staff, and she got the faint idea that Albus was orchestrating some grand coup. _That old coot. _

***

Pacing back and forth in his quarters, Harry tried to not panic. His heart hammered in his chest and he was going to probably have the most important conversation of his life at any moment. Hearing a knock, Harry to a deep breath, pushed the fear down, and opened the door. The second their eyes locked, Harry felt a mouth meet his hungrily. Pushed into his quarters gently by Severus' lips, Harry wrapped his arms around the man who he had ached for only hours before. Harry felt on fire from the kisses that his body had been denied for the last year, and he moaned as Severus moved his kisses down his neck.

"Ahhhh...mmmm...Sev. This feels amazing and it is all I have been thinking about for the last year, but we _really_ need to talk."

"Fuck. I shouldn't have presumed that you were able to continue where we left off before the final battle. I'm sure you are seeing someone and I have probably just made a fool of myself..."

Harry pressed his lips to Severus' to quiet his rambling. "There has been no one but you, Sev." Harry said quietly, "It's always been you..."

Harry cut himself off at the sound of the floo come to life several feet from where the two men were standing. Hermione carrying Evan and a diaper bag walked through and surveyed the scene with a look of shock and smiled a knowing smirk at Harry.

"Professor! Wow...well I am just going to be leaving, Harry. Evan's eaten and woke up after two hours around 5. I will firecall you tomorrow...good luck." exclaimed the intelligent brunette witch as she deposited the baby in Harry's arms. Faster than Harry thought possible, Hermione had scooped up some floo powder and disappeared into the green flames.

Harry kissed the top of Evan's head and tried to work up the courage to turn around and face Severus. "I tried to find you..." Harry muttered quietly without turning around. "My owls got returned and even Dumbledore didn't know where you were exactly. I wanted to tell you."

As Harry turned around, and jostled Evan to put him on his hip, he finally saw Severus' face. Utterly shocked with a single silent tear running down his cheek. "Mine? Ours?" he asked confused, but without a hint of disapproval in his voice.

"Definitely ours. Perfectly ours." Harry couldn't stop the tears from falling. This was the moment he had waited for since the day he found out he was pregnant.

"He is gorgeous, Harry. I had no idea...I mean how did this..."

"Well, I think you know _how_ it happened. When I woke up from the final battle, Poppy informed me about this little surprise here. She said that _some_ powerful wizards can get pregnant the old fashioned way...apparently we fit the bill."

"Merlin, Potter. You were pregnant during the final battle. All the power - it is amazing that you survived, let alone a pregnancy."

"Poppy said that he is a fighter. Just like his fathers, I guess. He's perfect, honestly."

"How did you do this alone? If I had known...I swear..."

"Hermione. She was my rock. When I couldn't find you. I wasn't exactly in the best place and she became my brain telling me to put one foot in front of the other and to eat three meals a day to make sure he was healthy."

"I am so sorry, love. I owe her more than I can say. Not that I like admitting that I owe that insufferable know-it-all anything," Severus joked, his personality coming out as he started looking a little less shell-shocked. "Can I...will you let me...? I never thought I would be a father...I never thought that anyone would want that with me."

"Sev, Evan needs his Papa. I talk about you all of the time. Even when I was still pregnant, I told him about how much you would love him."

"Evan?" questioned the absolutely dumbfounded Potion Master.

"Yeah, after my mum. Evan Ronald Potter-Snape. I wasn't sure about adding your surname or not, but his magical birth certificate recorded it automatically. I didn't know if you would have wanted that."

"Wanted that? Harry, of course. I just don't know what to say." Severus eased himself down on the couch with a look of overwhelmed fatigue, lacking his usual grace and cool presence.

"How about you hold your son?" Harry didn't even wait for a reply as he placed a smiling, sleepy-eyed Evan into Severus' arms. A feeling of rightness came over Harry, and he stifled a sob that was threatening to escape deep down in his throat. He watched father and son together for the first time.

"Thank Merlin he got my hair, Potter." Severus blurted out with a trademark sneer, which didn't have even a trace of any sting.

Harry couldn't help but laugh deeply, "Yeah that is exactly what I said when I saw his nose."

"Brat. I can't say that I don't disagree though. He seems to have each of our best physical qualities. Apparently we are good at making babies. Who would have guessed?"

"We were definitely good at practicing to make babies, Sev, so we shouldn't be so shocked." Harry bantered back to his son's father.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter. I think you have a point there." Severus smirked back at Harry. Going quiet for a minute, looking at the four and a half month old longingly, he asked "Tell me about him."

***


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: This is just for fun. I don't own HP or any of his kingdom sadly.

A/N: I'm a first time contributor, so I would love your suggestions. Enjoy!

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Harry had so much to tell Severus and barely stopped talking over the next four hours. Harry shared with him all of the feelings that had been swimming around in his head since he found out he was pregnant. The fear that he would not know how to take care of a baby or even how to be a good father. Harry knew that Severus likely had similar feelings running through his mind. They had both had similar, less than loving childhoods. Despite his late-night rambling of his fears, Harry knew that he loved Evan with a passion that he had never felt before and could already see Severus' connection to their son growing. Watching as Evan slept on Severus' chest, the peace that came over Harry was indescribable and he could tell that both Severus and Evan felt it. Their family was together for the first time.

Harry awoke some time later as he heard a deep voice speaking in a sweet tone that he had never heard come out of the snarky man before. Severus was talking to their son, unaware that Harry had awoken.

"Your Daddy is beautiful, isn't he, baby? I ran away from him because I was scared and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to both of you, I promise. If he will let me...I don't deserve this. I never thought I would have a family, but now there is you and I hope your Daddy as well. I want to learn how to be your father. Daddy said Papa, right? Is that what he calls me? Well, Evan, I am your Papa and I will always take care of you."

Evan gurgled in response, kicked his feet dramatically, and started mouthing Severus' shirt. Harry concluded that he needed to break the trance that had ensnared the three sitting on the couch until well after midnight.

"He's hungry, Sev. Let me make up a bottle." Harry reluctantly separated himself from the warmth of the tall man's body and stood into a yawn. Walking into the kitchen and beginning the process of feeding his child that he had repeated so many times of the past months.

"Can I learn, Harry? I want to know how to care for our son."

Harry smiled at the request and proceeded to instruct the Potions Master of how to prepare and test the bottle. After Evan was fed and burped, Harry motioned for Severus to follow him and proceeded to Evan's room down the hall.

"I can guarantee that our little man will be asleep in no time. Let me change him and you can rock him to sleep if you want. That is always when Ev's at his sweetest."

Harry could feel the slightly off-kilter Potions Master hovering over his shoulder watching him change and dress his son for bed. Harry noticed that Evan's eyes were scanning the room following his Papa as he shuffled behind Harry. Nearly euphoric seeing his son seeking out Severus, Harry motioned for the other man to sit in the rocking chair next to the window and placed their raven-haired son in his arms.

"I'll let you two have some time together. When he is asleep, just lay him down on his back in his crib. It takes a lot to wake him once he is asleep. Come into the lounge when he is out. I will put on a kettle for tea."

Though he leaned down to kiss his son's forehead, Harry wasn't sure if Severus even noticed him walk out of the room. The man had the shell-shocked, but exhilarated look that Harry himself had sported after finding out he was pregnant and again after Evan's birth. Processing all of this information was likely to confound the normally stoic and unflappable Potion Master. Harry had months to digest fatherhood and understand what was expected of him. He anticipated his former Professor to need some time to process the news of his unexpected paternity and figure out how this would fit into his life. _I want you to be part of this family, but it can't be out of a sense of duty. It has to be about love. _

Deep in thought, with his legs curled up under him on the sofa, Harry was nursing a cup of milky tea when Severus walked into the lounge. It gave Severus a chance to observe Harry without being watched. It was clear from their interactions that evening that Harry had matured greatly over the last year. He had to accept that he had taken lives, cope with the loss of his loved ones, and somehow find it in his heart to bring that beautiful child into this world - alone. Leaning against the doorframe, Severus closed his eyes and imagined Harry swollen with their child. His hands resting on Harry's stomach, feeling the baby move as he patted circles across the tight skin. _I missed so much already. I can't miss anymore. I don't know what I did to deserve them. _

Severus stepped into the room and poured himself a cuppa from the kettle on the stove. "I don't even know what to say, Harry. You know that is unlike me. He is more than I could have ever imagined possible."

"Isn't he?" Harry said dreamily, still nursing the warm cup despite the heat of that August night. "I never thought we could just suddenly get pregnant, but I can't imagine what I would have done if I hadn't."

"You know what this means, right?" mused the knowledgeable man. _Soul mates. _

"Yeah, I know." Harry muttered quietly. "But it doesn't mean that we should just jump back into what we were. Not that we could even do that with a four and a half month old keeping me up half the night. My heart aches for you, Sev. It has every day since I saw you last. I'm still hurting though. I don't know how long it will take for me to trust you again."

Severus Snape did not issue apologies easily or often, nor did he think that was what Harry wanted to hear. He needed to earn back the trust that had been broken. Prove that he understood the gift that Harry had given him, would continue to give him. "I will prove to you that I can be a good father, Harry. A good partner. I thought you deserved more than me, that is why I ran. But I didn't anticipate how much I would miss you. Miss what we felt like together." That didn't even come close to covering the feeling of longing that Severus had dealt with over the last year. "I thought that if I suffered without you, then maybe you could find someone who could make you happy and be what you need him to be. But the thought of someone else touching you, holding our son, being with you both here, it makes me want to do things that would make the Dark Lord blush."

Harry's mouth was slightly agape. His former professor was not one to share his emotions, usually keeping them bottled up inside, only simmering at the surface when his anger flared. They had never declared their feelings to each other, other than the instinctual words that accompanied their unbridled passion in each other's arms. "You know I love you, Sev. Evan wouldn't be here if I didn't. I know that you love me and our son, but I want you to make sure that this is what you want. Take some time and think about how having a family will change your life. Just think about it."

Harry took the exhausted man's cup, kissed his lips softly, and walked him to the door. "Go to bed and try to sort your head out. I'll be at breakfast tomorrow with Evan to probably send Minerva to an early grave with news of having another Potter in Gryffindor in ten and a half year."

"Gryffindor?! Really, Potter. My son could never..." barked Severus in a typical Snape-like tone. "That child is pure Snape and you know it. No Snape will ever be a blasted Gryffindor."

"I'm glad that I can still ruffle your feathers, love." Harry mused. "Perhaps he will surprise us both and end up a sweet, loyal Hufflepuff."

"HUFFLEPUFF!! No son of mine..." exclaimed the suddenly very awake Potion Master as the door shut behind him.

"Sleep well, Severus," chuckled Harry through the door. He was happy that despite the emotion that had been churned up tonight between the pair, they still could bicker as irritatingly as ever. Smiling contently, Harry readied himself for bed and slipped into a peaceful slumber almost immediately.

***


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: This is just for fun. I don't own HP or any of his kingdom sadly.

A/N: I love that I have so many people following my story. It would be great to have as many reviews!

* * *

Harry dressed Evan in an adorable red onesie covered in gold snitches to descend upon the Great Hall the next morning. He knew that Minerva would be his biggest challenge when sharing with the staff that the Boy-Who-Lived had a baby, and Harry hoped that dressing Evan in his cutest Gryffindor-colored outfit would pander to her house pride. As he expected, she immediately started babbling to his son the second he had made Evan's introduction to the staff. As each staff member joined them, Harry casually introduced Evan and, after their jaws dropped, the infant made quick work of winning over the adults who stared at him.

"Honestly, Mr. Potter, he really is a quite adorable and well-behaved child," expressed Minerva who sat to his right. "Who is his mother, Harry? Clearly, he isn't a Weasley with all of that black hair and porcelain skin."

"Ummmm...I gave birth to him actually." Harry's sharing of this fact was accepted by the group without problem, but he could see several of his colleagues doing the math in their heads. He had been pregnant before Voldemort's defeat; this child had lived through one of the worst battles in the history of the wizarding world. The sound level of the table decreased momentarily as that information was processed.

Harry tickled Evan, which sent him into giggles distracting the table from their silent thoughts. Evan bounced on Harry's thighs and began cooing excitably when a certain man walked through the doors of the Great Hall and came closer to their breakfast table. Without any words between them, Severus sat on Harry's left and took Evan so that Harry could actually attempt to eat his breakfast.

Several of the staff members looked shocked as the former bat of the dungeons took a bottle from Harry and settled Evan into a comfortable position in his arms to take his bottle. A kiss and a whisper into the infant's ear from the Potion Master was enough to stupefy Minerva, who thought she had seen everything possible from that man.

"Severus, I never thought you to be someone who liked children. No offense Harry, Evan is just the cutest little lion I have ever seen."

Without flinching he looked at the Assistant Headmistress with a sly smile, "It's all different when it is your own child, Minerva. And please desist from referring to my son as a lion. It is enough that Harry puts him in these ridiculous get-ups."

Harry was actually eager for the reaction, knowing that it would be quite the debacle. The Gryffindor Golden Boy and the ex-death eater head of Slytherin House caught in a torrid affair. It would be in the Prophet by dinner.

The second that the words registered across the table, there was a wave of pumpkin juice that shot directly out of Professor Flitwick's mouth and Minerva began to choke on her coffee. Though the table was only partially occupied with staff members, there was suddenly a cacophony of sound in the room.

The head of Gryffindor looked quite dumbfounded at the revelation. "Excuse me, Severus? Care to elucidate?"

Harry looked at Severus protectively and smiled at his son's eyes closing as he sucked on the bottle in his mouth, "Minerva, Sev is Evan's father. We began a relationship after I graduated, as surprising as that may be when looking back on our past rather contentious interactions." Harry was sure to stress the _after I graduated_ part of his declaration. Though student-teacher relationships were not forbidden if the student is over the age of 17, it was definitely frowned upon.

"Well..." she started slowly trying to gather her words."Clearly this is going to be a very loved and protected young man with the two of you for parents."

Minerva's eyes were twinkling in an almost Dumbledore-like fashion and staring directly at Severus as he placed Evan on his shoulder and began to pat his back. Her open acceptance of the three calmed down the reactions of the rest of the staff. When the Headmaster floated over to the breakfast table ten minutes later and patted his hand on the sleeping infant's head, making no comment about who held him, the outing of the Potter-Snape family nearly became old news.

"So, I take it that you knew about all of this Albus," asked the Assistant Headmistress, "and clearly didn't think that I needed to know about an infant moving into the castle. Irregardless of my affection for his fathers."

"Minerva, I, of course, was informed of Mr. Potter-Snape's birth, as I am all wizarding children. In regards to not telling you of his residence in the castle, I thought that it would be a joyful occasion to introduce young Evan to all of the staff in person. It has been far too long since young children have been blessed upon our school."

"It will be a joy to have babies here again, won't it, Albus? It has been well over thirty years, if I can remember correctly. It was Poppy's daughters who were last living in the castle and the oldest of them was recently made a grandmother!" Minerva was nearly jumping out of her chair in uncharacteristic glee.

"Evidently our procreation has turned two seemingly intelligent people into complete ninnies." blurted out Severus in his typical no-nonsense fashion. It was hard to take his derisive tone seriously as he rubbed his sweet looking son's back softly.

"Don't burn bridges, Sev. Clearly, Evan has two honorary grandparents here who we could coerce to baby-sit for us," noted Harry dryly. "Think like a Slytherin, love. Use the blubbering ninnies to our advantage."

The personal banter between the two men caused the other occupants of the breakfast table to laugh in earnest. It takes a certain kind of person to speak to the harsh head of Slytherin in that manner without being hexed, regardless of how human-like his year away had seemingly made Severus. _Perhaps it is more than the year away from students that his tamed the most feared professor at Hogwarts. _

"Well, I am going to go and put Evan down for his nap since you people seem to see him as nothing but a tool for your enjoyment," said Severus with a leer. "I'll see you upstairs, Harry?"

"Yeah, I'll be a minute. You're on the wards now, so you can go right in."

As his two favorite people walked out of the Great Hall, Harry turned to Albus. "So, you knew about Severus and me? I mean...you could have said something. I anticipated having to scrape you and Professor McGonagall off the ceiling."

"There is not a lot that goes on in this castle that I don't know about, Harry. Including where you spent your nights last summer. " commented the headmaster with his trademark knowing look, much to the embarrassment of Harry. "I admit that I was surprised to learn about your son's birth, but I never doubted his parentage. Honestly, it is impossible to look at the child and have any doubt as to who his parents are."

"He does look a lot like Sev, doesn't he?" said Harry dreamily. "If you had told me even five years ago that I would be happy that my first-born looked like Snape, I would have sent you to St. Mungo's." neither man could hold back a chuckle. "But...we fit. When I'm with him, I can be myself and not expect to be treated as the boy who lived or any of that nonsense. He's a challenge, but I enjoy his snarky wit and passion for the things that he loves. Watching him with Evan now, I have absolutely no doubt that he will be a dedicated father. Actually, I'm beginning to think that my son may be working to wrap his Papa around his little finger. If I had known it was so easy to do, I would have tried years ago."

"Ahhhh...Mr. Potter, I think that you may have already done so. Severus has always endeavored to protect you, regardless of, shall we say, the antagonism that you two seemed to fuel for many years. At some point during your 6th or 7th year, his opinion for you clearly changed and, though I know very little about the extent of your relationship now, I don't doubt that all you or your son has to do is bat those big green eyes, and my menacing spy is suddenly as conciliatory as a house elf."

"If Severus heard you say that, Headmaster, I would not put it past him to AK you right here at breakfast."

"True, Mr. Potter. I need to tell you though that Severus is like a son to me and I like seeing him in such good spirits. Take care of him."

"You don't have to worry about that, sir. Actually, I will go upstairs now and make sure that he isn't explaining to my four and a half month old how to make Wolfsbane. I don't think hearing about the process of extracting unicorn blood would cause particularly pleasant dreams."

Harry excused himself from the table and went in search of his family. _My family. Is that what we are? It is amazing how quickly I began thinking of the three of us as that. Severus hasn't even known our son for twenty-four hours yet. We'll need to talk about this, I guess._Harry's rambling thoughts were immediately stopped by the site that was in front of him when he opened the door to his quarters. The long, dark-haired man was stretched across the brown leather couch that sat at the center of Harry's lounge, asleep, with Evan across his chest drooling in his own peaceful slumber. _Wow._Tears glistened in Harry's eyes at the site before him. It was what he had imagined when he first found out that he was pregnant, before he knew that Severus had left, before he had resigned himself to be a single father. _I don't know what I will do if I lose this now. It is more than I could have imagined._

_***_

_A/N: See that little review button below - its so easy to do! ;-) _


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be a literary genuis and multi-millionaire like JKR, I sadly am not and I own none of this intellectual property, except Evan. But you can borrow him if you want...

Review please!

***

Harry watched his son sleep on his papa and didn't consider waking either member of the domestic scene. It was too good to give up just yet. Instead, Harry made a cup of tea and sat across from them on the matching leather arm chair, just watching them and thinking about everything that had changed since the previous evening. Harry knew that he had to go and see the Weasleys today, tell them about Severus being Evan's other parent, before something slipped and suddenly news of their son was on the front page of the Prophet. Also, Harry doubted that Hermione would last much longer before jumping through the floo to get all of the details on what she had walked in on last night.

Harry wasn't sure if the Weasleys would be surprised about Severus. They had been living in the castle during the summer before the final battle. They saw them together talking quietly at meals, dueling with far more enjoyment than was truly necessary in the Room of Requirements each day, and seeking the other out when tactical information on Voldemort became available. Truthfully, the only person to comment on their newfound respect for each other was Ron, who was flabbergasted by Harry's willingness to spend so much time in the presence of the _greasy git_. The rest of the Order in residence at Hogwarts didn't mention the seemingly sudden camaraderie between the two men, war produced many unexpected alliances. Of course, they made an effort to not appear too close, despite having a hard time keeping their hands off of each other, and Harry tried not to be seen leaving the dungeons early in the morning, but it was a rare time when the people around them were more concerned about staying alive and ending the war quickly than where their Savior was sleeping. Now, Harry was sure that his relationship with Severus, their son, would certainly get a rather vocal response from the wizarding community. _They think they know me, know us both. The Death Eater and the Chosen One. At least Evan would be proof that we are meant to be together. Nothing can change that fact. _

_"_You look like you are thinking so hard that you may rupture something, Potter," murmured the tall, dark-haired man with sleep still clinging to his eyes. "What is causing your brain to venture into the unchartered territories of thought?"

"Us. Trying to figure out what you being here means for _me,_I guess. Wondering how long until we have to dodge reporters asking about Evan or our relationship." Harry looked questioningly at the man he loves. "I trust the staff here, Sev, but it is bound to get out fairly soon. Are you ready to be in the spotlight like that? As the Savior's lover? People think they know me, think that they own me and have a right to comment on every decision I make. They are going to think the same thing about you and Ev."

"I know. That is what kept me from sleep last night. I'm a private man; I am used to the quiet and solitude of the dungeons. I have seen what everyone expects of you. I don't want to let you down if I can't handle it."

"Don't think that this has anything to do with your ability to not live up to my expectations. It has everything to do with you accepting the fact that you will likely be on the cover of every periodical in the wizarding world simply for walking down Diagon Alley with me. That is why I have kept Evan tucked away at the Burrow for so long, why I didn't go out in public when I was visibly pregnant. I don't want people to turn my life into any more of a spectacle than it has to be."

"Our life will not be a spectacle. I won't let it be. I understand that there may be some initial _interest_ in our relationship, but it will calm down. We will probably send that Skeeter woman into a tizzy for a couple of months, but when our boring life of diapers and correcting essays is realized, I think that we won't be on the front page any longer. Maybe the middle of the paper, after the used brooms and questionable potions ingredients are advertised."

"You do realize that I am actually referred to as 'the sexy savior of our souls,' right? I was named "Most Eligible Wizard' by Witches Weekly three years in a row. I am apparently currently in red-hot affairs with both Oliver Wood and Ginny Weasley, who are said to have recently dueled for my affections at the Quidditch World Cup. Skeeter and the other reporters don't do boring. They just make it up if the truth doesn't sell papers," admitted Harry. "I think the fact that I ACTUALLY gave birth to my former professor's baby less than a year after I graduated from Hogwarts is far more sensational than even what they have made up, especially since _you _are the other man."

Staring down at their son still resting on his chest, Severus took a deep breath before responding, "I am aware of all of that, Potter. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. I'm not going anywhere ever again. I know what I am getting myself into and I won't regret it."

With a full heart, Harry conceded "I hope not. I don't think I could bear to lose you again. I hope that you are ready for what we are getting into. We will be first family of the wizarding world and there is nothing either of us can do to change that. I am frankly happy to be open about our relationship. There is nothing about you and Evan that I want to hide. However you and I decide to define our relationship, I'm proud to be part of this family, Sev."

Resting his lips on the soft ebony hair of his son, Severus felt uncharacteristically content and exhilarated. In the last 24 hours he had returned to the place that he had considered home for almost thirty years and found not only the man he desperately yearned for over the past months, but their child. The Severus Snape who existed before the Dark Lord was vanquished, before Harry had come into his life, would never have thought it possible to be spending his morning lazily curled up on the sofa with his son. The snarky Potions Master never dreamed that he would have a child at all. Not one created from love who was undeniably cherished. Severus thought that his life was too rigid and dark to even think about the possibility of having a family, falling in love. Love was for people who whispered sweet nothings to each other and gazed longingly into each others eyes. He was not that kind of man.

Yet, it had happened to him. He could no longer deny that he loved Harry deeply, with the proof sleeping sweetly upon him. Harry had just swept into his life and, without so much as asking Severus' opinion on the matter, he decided that they were friends, then more. He radiated light and goodness, feelings that Severus had never felt bestowed upon himself before. After a few short weeks, the Potions master could not get enough of the man that Harry had become. Severus' personality was still the same; difficult, stubborn, cantankerous at times, and he would never be the romantic that Harry deserved. Instead of flowers and wistful looks, Harry received explosive passion and fierce protection. From the very first time their lips touched, Severus had felt like Harry was his drug. _And I've been in withdrawal far too long. _

Seeing the hunger that danced across the older man's eyes, Harry thought it best for himself to retreat. _"_Do you mind staying with Evan for a bit? I think I need to run to the Burrow and preempt my entire family from descending in here."

"I believe that would be acceptable. Anything to prevent a storming of noisy red-heads from disrupting our slumber."

***

Harry fell out of the floo into the chaotic living room of the Burrow. Silently cursing to himself that much of the family was sprawled on various mismatched furniture in the expansive living room. _Why did I have to decide to do this on a Saturday? It would be so much easier with just one or two at a time. Molly is going to have a bloody conniption._

The young man's eyes scanned the room, not seeing Hermione sitting with the rest of the family. "Hey all, is Hermione around here somewhere?" Harry knew that there was no way he was going to tackle this particular topic without his best friend calming the uproar.

"Great to see you too, little brother." exclaimed George. "I can see how much you missed me. Where's my godson? I have a new stuffed hippogriff that I actually charmed to fly. I need to make sure that babies can't take flight when holding it."

"Please don't use my only child as a test subject. I have become quite attached to him."

George smiled cheekily at his younger, but far more responsible friend. The two had always been friends, but had gotten closer since the final battle- since losing Fred. Being made young Evan's godfather had helped George to come out of the depression that had surrounded him since Fred and Ron's deaths. It had been hard to open the shop every day, and he barely had invented anything new until he decided that Harry's son needed some _unique_ toys. George's infant and toddler line of plushies, teething rings, and colorful learning toys was a runaway hit at his Diagon Alley store. Evan had made him think of safety for the first time, and his other more mature jokes and treats were being tweaked to make sure that there were no unexpected reactions. Though George liked to play the fun-loving, immature bachelor, his mind was brilliant when it came to business and inventing. He knew that he would need to engage another partner in the business, as he was barely able to take a couple of afternoons a week away from the shop. He was busy and beginning to live and make decisions as a singular person, not as a twin. He was beginning to move on and develop his own identity.

"You didn't answer my question and you look a bit skittish, Harrykins. What's going on?" noticed the lanky, bemused red-head.

"Evan is still at the castle. I need to talk to Hermione for a second, and then I will come and find the family. And I'm not skittish," commented the exasperated young father. "I've just had a very eventful couple of days. I will tell you about it _after I talk to Hermione."_

Harry was pointed in the direction of the back gardens where he found the beautiful witch with the chocolate brown curls kneeling in a patch of what looked to be rhubarb. Unable to control his childish impulse, he silently crept toward the unaware woman and jumped behind her. "Boo!"

Hermione Granger jumped up and nearly had her wand drawn when she noticed her friend laughing at her expense. "Next time, I am just going to hex first and figure out who it is later. Now...if I wasn't so interested in hearing about what I walked in on last night, I would continue to chastise you for your immaturity. Now, dish."

"Sev's home. Albus coerced him to take back over as Potions Master after last year's disaster with Slughorn. He was absolutely shocked about Ev, as I expected. But he has barely let him go since he found out. They are both currently asleep on my couch." Harry smiled unconsciously at the thought of what awaited him in his quarters. "Mione, I feel like everything flowing through me right now is totally contradictory. I am undeniably overwhelmed, but I want more."

"Harry! You have been waiting for this for over a year. Of course you are overwhelmed and excited and thrilled that your son will know his father. This is to be expected. What does this mean for you two?"

"I don't know yet. I want to be angry with him and not allow myself close to him like that again for awhile, but I also know now that he is my soul mate, not to mention the father of my child. What kind of idiot turns away from their soul mate?"

"It isn't idiotic to protect yourself. Just take your time and don't jump into anything head first."

"Me? Jump into something head first? _Never._" snickered Harry. "I'm going to take this slow, I promise. I know that this relationship isn't what it started out to be. We just need to figure out what we want out of it now and how we get there with an infant in tow."

"What do you want out of it, Harry?" asked the young witch with a knowing look.

Harry looked at her straight in the face, knowing that even when he wasn't always honest with himself, he would be truthful with her, "What do I not want, Mione? I want everything. I want the white picket fence as muggles say. I want to raise a family with him, get married, maybe have more children. I just don't want to mess this up. Evan deserves a chance to grow up with both of his parents, together and happy. It's something neither Severus nor I had, and I want our son to be secure that he is loved and supported by his family at all times. I don't want to fuck this up."

"You won't. I mean, you already know the hardest part - you love each other and are the most compatible people for each other in the world. Talk to him about how you are feeling. It is the explosion from when you bottle everything up that has caused many of your previous disasters."

"You're right." conceded Harry. "Thanks, Mione. You know that I love you, right? I don't want our relationship to change because I am spending time with Severus again. I want you to get to know him as I know him." Harry put his arms around Hermione and was accepted into a familial hug.

"I love you too. Don't worry, I'm quite persistent. You really can't get rid of me, even if you wanted to. We're together for the long haul. I promise." she pulled Harry a little tighter. "So, it's time to tell them, isn't it? That's why you're here?"

"Yes, and I expect you to sit directly between Molly and the floo. If she tries to escape to find Severus, you need to hold her down."

"Harry, I'm a witch, and quite a good one at that. I'm not going to hold her down. That's why stunners were invented." chuckled Hermione mischievously.

***

A/N: I know you can see the review button below. The more reviews, the faster I tend to write! ;-)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be a literary genuis and multi-millionaire like JKR, I sadly am not and I own none of this intellectual property, except Evan. But you can borrow him if you want...

Review please!

***

When Harry and Hermione came back into the house, they were bombarded by feeding time at the Weasley zoo. Molly had roast duck and a variety of side dishes on the long crowded table. _I guess lunch is as good a time as any._

_"_Harry, dear, I didn't expect to see you again so soon. I hope that your new quarters are suitable and that my favorite grandson didn't keep you up all night being away from home. Where is Evan?"

Harry looked around the table at the people who he had come to think of as his family, Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur, George, Ginny, and Hermione. They all want the best for him. They have seen him struggle since the final battle. He could do this. _Deep breath, Harry._

"He's with his father."

Mouths agape, the Weasleys gave Harry a questioning look. Hermione patted Harry's leg under the table in encouragement.

"What are you trying to say, Harry?" asked Molly impatiently.

"That Evan's other father is back in the picture and he now knows that he has a son. I just wanted you all to know that Severus is going to be spending a lot of time with our son. I'm really happy that he returned to Hogwarts." Harry waited momentarily on bated breath.

"WHAT?" screeched Molly "THAT MAN is Evan's father?" She started pacing and Harry kept an eye on her to assure that she didn't get too close to the floo. "I swear, if I see him again I will hex his bollocks off. You are just a boy and he is old enough to be your father!"

"Molly, I love him. You of all people should know the absolute love that is needed to conceive a child."

"And he left you! Left you, Harry! THAT MAN doesn't deserve to be anywhere near you or that beautiful boy."

Before Harry could respond in defense, Bill cleared his throat. "I only have one thing to say. Pay up."

Turning to Ginny and George, Bill extended a hand. "I believe that you each owe me 20 galleons. I will expect payment in full by the end of the day." Bill couldn't duck the dual head slaps from both his father and wife.

"YOU BET ON MY BABY'S FATHER?!" Harry exclaimed in shock. Perplexed, he asked "And you were right?"

"Of course I was right. I'm very perceptive." Bill huffed indignantly still rubbing his head from the assault moments ago. "When we were training you in the Room of Requirements, I accidentally grazed you with cutting hex in the back. It was like I killed Snape's puppy. He practically clawed over me to get to you and then, when we were all sure that you were fine, he took me out into the hallway." Bill shuttered visibly. "If I am ever taken out into the hallway by Snape again, please just Avada Kedavra me right there. Highly unpleasant." Bill was smirking, clearly still excited about his win. "Besides, every time the two of you would duel, you both always got all hot and bothered and looked like you wanted to rip each other's clothes off and fuck your brains out."

Shocked and affronted, Molly Weasley bellowed "WILLIAM ARTHUR WEASLEY! That is disgusting! You knew about this and you didn't protect Harry?"

Harry was getting red with irritation over the older auburn haired woman's comments. "I didn't need any protection! I was the one who started it!"

"You don't know what you are talking about, Harry. THAT MAN took advantage of you."

Harry could feel his blood boiling over the comments about his lover. "Bloody hell, Molly. Leave it alone. It is done. You can't change the fact that Evan exists and that Sev is his father."

"Why isn't anyone else seeing how disturbing this is?" Molly questioned her family.

Hermione, who was attempting to sooth all parties involved with her calm demeanor, "Molly, this is what Harry wants. He was happy. They were happy together. It was clear to see that they grew very close before the final battle. We all saw it."

Ginny looked sheepish, "Mum, we all made our bets before Harry had the baby. When we saw Evan for the first time, we kind of all knew who his other dad is. We were just waiting for him to confirm it."

Molly balked at her daughter admitting that they had expected this news. Before she could explode, Harry interrupted, "Wait...who did the rest of you put money on?"

Ginny looked slightly ashamed, but declared "Malfoy."

"WHAT?" Harry exclaimed. "You thought I would have sex with DRACO MALFOY?"

"Listen Harry, you obviously weren't telling anyone who the father of your baby was, so it was clearly someone who you thought the family would not approve of. Also, he is quite hot and gay and was around the castle in the summer. I still think it was a good pick."

"I can't believe this. Malfoy? Alright, George. Who did you bet on? I am getting nervous...Filch perhaps? Or Voldemort himself?"

"Of course not, Harry. I had a very conservative pick. Charlie. You have always liked the tall and dangerous types, and my brother the dragon tamer is known as quite the sex god in Romania apparently. He was staying at the castle with the Order and I saw him give you that look a few times. I tried to weasel it out of him right up until Evan was born. Alas, I came to terms with the fact that my beloved godson was not blessed with red hair and freckles. My brother let me down. I lost 20 galleons!"

Despite his initial disturbance, Harry couldn't help but start convulsing with laughter. Harry knew now what it truly felt like to have siblings. "Honestly, if you ever bet on me or my son again, I will tell your parents quite a few dastardly stories of each of you that I have saved up that would gray even their hair."

The Weasley children, along with Hermione and Harry, were all laughing so hard that tears ran down their cheeks. Even Fleur, who tried hard to remain coquettish at all times, was giving in to the deep belly laughs. "'arry, ze all knew of de bebe's papa. Mama and Papa Weazley must close zeir eyes when zay look at him."

"Thanks Fleur. I feel like he looks like Severus more and more each day."

"At least he got your eyes and nose, Harry," interjected Ginny jokingly. "He is really a beautiful baby with all of that silky black hair and pale skin. Not as beautiful as red-hair and freckles, but the next best thing."

Molly Weasley had heard enough of her children's acceptance of Harry's relationships with Snape. "Harry, I can't believe that you would want your son to grow up around THAT MAN. Perhaps he should stay at the Burrow while you are at school and..."

"Enough, Molly," Harry barked. "I love you like a mother, but this is going too far. You need to learn to deal with the truth. You don't have to like it, but if you want Evan and me in your life, you have to accept his other parent. My son deserves to have two parents who love him."

"What does he know about love..." Molly started again.

Arthur broke his usual happy, quiet demeanor, "I think it is time that you go take a walk, Molly. Before you say something that you can't take back. Harry, we love you and we hope you are happy. Molly will either get over this or learn to bite her tongue, I promise you."

Arthur led his highly agitated wife out the kitchen door in an effort to cool her off.

Letting out a deep breath, Harry commented "I guess it could have gone worse, right? She didn't attempt to track him down and leave him unable to give me any more children."

George, who was well practiced in being on the wrong side of Molly Weasley's temper, patted Harry on the back. "We have always considered you a brother, Harry, but that explosion of my mother's temper truly made you understand what it means to be a Weasley. Welcome to the family, little brother."

Both Ginny and Bill nodded and laughed, with Hermione and Fleur both nodding in understanding. _I hope no one else reacts quite so scarily._

***

After Harry had escaped the Burrow unscathed he flooed directly back to his quarters and heard the voice of a screaming child from down the hall. Slightly panicked at the thought of his son upset, Harry darted to his bedroom and saw an exasperated Severus Snape bouncing their son in his arms, shifting side to side. When he saw Harry, a look of relief flooded his eyes.

"Your son hates me. He has been fed, diapered, and he even broke me down enough to _sing_ to him. Nothing is working."

Harry stepped out of the room and from a cabinet in the hallway he grabbed a Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes box. "I think this might help." Harry uttered as he walked back into Evan's room.

"You _think_ something from that dreadful shop is going to do anything but poison my son or turn him into a grapefruit?"

Harry whispered a freezing charm on a ring that changed color every few seconds from the WWW box and put it in the crying infant's mouth. Immediately the tears diminished and Evan grabbed onto the ring in relief.

"Teething, I think. Don't worry he doesn't hate you. Thanks to George's desire to supply his godson with every toy and baby product known to man, we are in luck tonight."

"Excuse me, what did you say?" asked the Potions Master pointedly. "George Weasley, one of the most troublesome pranksters that has ever inhabited this school, is my son's _godfather?"_

"Who else did you think would be, love?" Harry mocked. "I was always close to the twins and George especially. Just think...now you're practically related to him."

"Dear Merlin, please put me out of misery." The former death eater attempted to give a typical Snape glare, but only got a smirk from Harry in return. _Doesn't work on me anymore, if it ever did. _

***

A/N: Reviewing is so easy and it makes me really happy to hear from you!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be a literary genuis and multi-millionaire like JKR, I sadly am not and I own none of this intellectual property, except Evan. But you can borrow him if you want...

A/N: Thanks for the great response so far! I really love seeing the reviews and how many people have favorited the story. Wonderful!

Below is my first attempt at a sex scene. Please be kind, but let me know what you think!

***

The walk from his lab in the dungeons to the second floor suite where his family lives had a way of improving Severus' mood regardless of any previous irritation. It surprised the former spy how quickly he had taken to fatherhood. He had always thought of himself as too broken to open himself up to that kind of love and connection. His relationship with Harry before the final battle was somewhat of a whirlwind. It had happened so quickly and without question due to the violence and chaos that surrounded them at the time that Severus hadn't realized how close he had allowed Harry to get until he was forced to watch Harry battle countless death eaters and finally face Voldemort himself. The Potion Master amazed himself by the level of power that came through his own wand during that last battle. He stood behind the golden trio with an eye always on the man who had wormed his way into his heart. Almost every spell that was sent toward Harry was deflected by his own considerable skill and power, but it was Severus who refused to allow his former comrades to continue fighting after attacking the Savior, _his Savior. _The ferocity that flowed through Severus during the battle was not a result of hate or anger, but of protection and love. No one hurts what is his.

The week following Harry's visit to the Burrow was busy with preparations for the upcoming school year. Harry and Severus spent most of their time together in the company of their son. Their conversations became less filtered, and Harry could feel himself growing accustomed to the Potion Master's frequent presence in his quarters. Severus had agreed that Harry's rooms were far more suitable for a small child, so they kept him settled in their little enclave of the castle. When the students returned to Hogwarts the following day, Severus knew that he would have to spend more time in the dungeons to be available for the Slytherins, so he wanted to soak up the uninterrupted time with the two who had latched onto his heart so fiercely. He anticipated a rather chilly reaction from his snakes when his son's parentage was discovered, but he would deal with that without upsetting Harry. _Our son is not going to get sucked into petty house issues.__The war is over and Slytherin needs to realize that. _

Over the days since returning to the castle, it became clear to Harry that Severus was in it for the long haul. He was a loving father, even breaking from his chilly demeanor to try and make Evan laugh that adorable baby giggle. _If his students could see him blowing bubbles on Evan's stomach, they would think he was hit with imperius._ Harry was touched when Severus explained to him that he wanted to be a full-time parent for Evan, sharing whatever duties that was necessary fully with Harry. Albus had arranged their teaching schedules so that one of Evan's parents could always be with him during the day. They would still need Hermione or Molly to watch Evan during staff meetings or other school events that they both needed to attend together, but the men were planning on making a concerted effort of keep their son close and protected. The castle was the safest place for him in the world likely, but he was still the son of the Chosen One and an ex-Death Eater who spied for the light. Even at less than five months old, he would have plenty of enemies.

When Severus finally walked through the quidditch painting in the second floor corridor, he was surprised to hear near silence from the quarters that were normally quite lively before the dinner hour. The space smelled fantastic, but neither Evan nor Harry was in the living area. "Hello? Potter? It is too quiet in here. What have you done with my child?"

Harry walked out of his bedroom, robeless, wearing charcoal gray pants that hugged every curve and a black silk v-neck t-shirt that highlighted his broad shoulders and narrow waist. "Evan is having a sleepover with Victoire. I thought that we could have dinner together _alone_ before the term starts. Bill and Fleur offered to babysit, so I thought maybe we could attempt a....a date I guess."

Severus could tell that Harry was nervous about how the Potion Master would take his proposal. "That sounds _acceptable_ Mr. Potter." Despite the control of his words, Severus' eyes were suddenly aflame with desire for the strong, handsome wizard. _How does he look that good after giving birth to a baby only a couple of months ago? I'm hoping I can make it through dinner. _

Without thought, Harry padded over to Severus and kissed him. Not full of passion or anticipation for the night ahead of them, but rather a kiss that was solid, comfortable, and with a quiet, but unquestioned sense of ownership. "Take your robe off, Sev. You're going to help me in the kitchen. I think that you can probably handle making a salad, right?"

Smiling at the sight before him, Harry barefoot and in his element moving around the kitchen to prepare dinner, Severus removed his own robe and rolled the sleeves up on the black collared shirt that he preferred to wear when brewing. The two men worked together in a comfortable silence. Neither needed instruction, so they moved around each other to complete the simple dinner of hearty lasagna, salad, and crusty homemade bread. Harry poured a glass of red wine, took a sip, and offered it to his companion. It was something that they had started before the final battle, sharing a glass of wine when Harry came to the dungeon after a long day of training. It was never commented on, but the intimacy of the interaction was not lost on either man.

With a wave of his wand, Harry had dimmed the lights in the lounge and several candles on the dining room table flickered to life. Offering Severus a plate, Harry gestured for them to sit at the table. "Are you being wooed by my attempts at romance, Sev?"

"Perhaps. You may need to try a little harder though if you want to assure that you get lucky tonight," joked the tall, dark man who couldn't take his eyes off Harry.

"Ha...you are awfully presumptuous Professor Snape. I would not do anything to defile your virtue."

"My virtue is in your hands, as is my heart and body and really anything else you want," the Potion Master took Harry's hand and kissed the palm gently. Harry was awed by the openness that he saw in the ebony eyes that looked at him across the table.

"I strangely enjoy our dinners with Evan wiggling around and trying to get his hands on everything, but it is nice to spend the night with just you too."

"Maybe we can try to fit these in during the semester. I'm sure that we have a bevy of babysitters who would take that little monster off our hands once in a while."

"Monster? I think you are talking about some other child. My son is a perfect angel," commented the younger man.

"You did witness the cereal incident this morning, right? I do not believe that there was anything "accidental" about your son's attempt at magic. He apparently did not enjoy his breakfast, as he felt it would be better dumped over my head. I don't think I have ever seen such a smile on that boy's face."

"It was a shining moment for me, actually. I got a few pictures for his album. I think your house would appreciate copies. The dungeon bat pretending a spoon is a muggle aeroplane, then being attacked by baby porridge." Harry's chuckles came from deep in his chest and were causing tears to slip down his cheeks. Severus couldn't help by join in, despite how long it had taken him to get the cereal out of his ears.

Dinner was a pleasant affair and the pair cleaned up the remnants of the meal together. Settled on the couch with a fire burning to take the unseasonable chill off the castle air, Harry didn't hesitate to cuddle up to Severus' side. "A lot has changed, hasn't it?"

"Indeed. Mostly for the better though, I believe. The Dark Lord is gone and of course there is the little monster's presence in our lives."

"You didn't say anything about us, Sev. A lot has changed with us. This isn't just sex anymore."

"It was never just sex, brat. We just didn't have much time to do anything but have sex last time. We couldn't exactly go strolling hand-in-hand down Diagon Alley at the height of the war, could we?"

"We can't exactly do that now either. How we have managed to keep Evan out of the public eye since we arrived at the castle, I have no idea. There's no chance of having another week of peace with him once the students are back. The Prophet will be trying for a picture of him at every turn."

"Maybe we should allow it then. One article, and then we are closed off. Ask Miss Lovegood to publish it in the Quibbler. A story of Evan Potter-Snape and his fathers, who plan on keeping their family together and safe at whatever cost. It is the truth, isn't it?"

"It's my truth, love." Harry said, "But you do know the response that _you_ will be getting. Likely Howlers, nasty looks, and the like. You have corrupted the Savior."

"I plan on continuing to corrupt him as well, so they better get used to it."

Harry couldn't help but smile at Severus' willingness to put himself on the line when it came to him and Evan. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the older man's thin, warm lips. They had not spent much time alone since returning to Hogwarts, and besides a few chaste pecks in greeting, their lips had barely connected. The older man's tongue traced his lower lip, begging for entrance. Harry welcomed him and surrendered to the passion that he had missed for so long.

Large, calloused hands were inside of his shirt, sending shivers across the former quidditch player's cut stomach. Harry could feel himself heating up and starting to lose control, passed the point where he could stop his body from seeking out the heat of the older man. "mmmm...baby, I missed you."

Harry couldn't tell if minutes or hours had passed, all he could feel with the warmth of Severus' mouth and the feel of those incredible hands. The taller man pulled Harry onto his lap, stripped his shirt off, and moved his kisses down the smaller man's neck. "Tell me what you missed, Harry."

Harry could barely hold back the moans as Severus latched onto a sensitive spot behind his ear. "I missed your lips...everywhere. How your hands feel on my skin. I missed you inside me, Sev. It's like we were made for each other. No one else could ever make me scream like you do....mmmm." The site before the Potion Master was almost too much for his eyes to bear. They were face to face with Harry straddling the lap of his former professor. Harry's eyes were filled with desire, nearly as black as his own, his lips red from desperate kisses and his bites of his own bottom lip to keep his moans at bay. Severus could feel Harry's hardness pressed into his stomach, and worried that they would lose control too soon as the younger man started to grind their hips together.

Severus felt a wave of sadness mix with his lust toward his lover; he had almost given this up. Run away from the feeling that swelled in his chest when Harry was near. _I could have lost him, all because of my own insecurities._The passion swirled in the Potion Master and he felt the incontrollable urge to make Harry his..._forever._"No one will ever know you like this...no one but me."

"mmmm...only you." Harry could see that Severus needed him, needed to know that they were one again. When they made love, Harry was always awestruck by the passion that the normally stoic man radiated. Their eyes were always locked, their hands sending sparks through each other's skin. Harry bit back another groan as Severus bit lightly on his left nipple, while the hands infused with magic tweaked the right. "Merlin Sev...I'm not going to last long if you keep doing that. Make me yours, baby. Show me that I'm yours..."

Both of the men removed the other's clothing with a frantic need that was vibrating through their bodies. Naked, yet still in the same position on the living room sofa, Harry let out a groan of appreciation when he saw his lover's body. When he got a glimpse of Severus' uncovered body for the first time last year, it had been a shock by how muscled and strong the older man was. Now, after months traveling the world and collecting potions ingredients in many physically demanding locations, Severus was lean, chiseled and tan. "Merlin, Sev, you look amazing. If students knew what you were hiding under your robes, your clothes would get hexed off every day."

"Let's keep it our little secret then. I am too busy looking at you. You are positively edible." Severus bit down on Harry's shoulder to emphasize his point, leaving a harsh red mark that excited Harry even further.

Eyes full of lust, Harry wrapped his fingers around the long, thick cock of the tall, strong older man underneath him. His thumb rubbed the leaking head, and Harry proceeded to fist the throbbing member. Severus' eyes lost focus and his mouth looked like it was issuing silent whimpers. Harry grabbed his wand with his unoccupied hand and murmured contraceptive, stretching and lubricating spells at himself. Another quick spell to his palm provided an oily clear liquid that Harry coated over Severus' hard shaft. Without a word, Harry maneuvered his lover to his entrance and sank down on him slowly. Both men exclaimed moans that sounded as if they came from their souls.

As Harry grew accustomed to the welcomed intrusion, he kissed Severus deeply, trying to express how much he had missed the feeling of togetherness that only this act can elicit. He began to move up and down Severus' slick cock, grunting and moaning in time with the speed of their movements.

The Potion Master let Harry take the lead, knowing that he currently needed to feel in control of their relationship. He watched himself disappear into the man he loves and sighed in absolute contentment. _Nothing feels like this. I can't even tell where my body ends and his begins. I never want this to end._

Harry found a quick rhythm that slammed his prostate with every stroke. He knew that he wouldn't last much longer, especially since it had been so long since he last had sex. Tightening his muscles around the cock inside of him, Harry sped up his movements and only seconds later heard Severus scream "Harry...love....fuck…love...you" as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Feeling his lover come inside of him sent Harry over the edge and he erupted on both of their sweat-covered stomachs. Harry collapsed on the Potion Master's chest, feeling perfectly sated and marvelously happy.

Minutes passed; finally Severus slid out of Harry and quietly whispered a cleaning charm across their stomachs. "Bed, my love?"

Harry could only grumble an affirmative response and within seconds he was unconscious in his bed.

The normally cold, detached Potion Master felt tears wet his cheeks as he wrapped his arms tightly around the man who had stolen his heart. _I don't deserve this, but I am never going to let him go._

_***_

A/N: OK? The review button is below!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be a literary genuis and multi-millionaire like JKR, I sadly am not and I own none of this intellectual property, except Evan. But you can borrow him if you want...

A/N: I am loving hearing from all of you guys. Don't worry...some drama will be coming up soon. ;-) I love reviews and it is helping to give me inspiration to write faster! Let me know what you like - more smut? more drama? more fluff?

***

Severus opened his eyes the next morning to a bright, light bedroom that clearly was not his windowless room in the dungeons. Feeling eyes on him, Severus muttered "How exactly do you sleep with such large windows?"

"Believe it or not, some people like to wake up with the sun. It is almost 7 and the sun feels nice, doesn't it?"

Faking annoyance, the former Death Eater attempted a Snape-like glare. "I think that my incredible sexual prowess has turned your brain to mush. The sun is interrupting my beauty sleep, kindly send it away." Severus stole Harry's pillow and covered his offended eyes.

"Are you sure you want to go back to sleep, Sev?" As he uttered the last syllable, Harry lifted back the thin sheet on the bed and leisurely licked his lover's morning erection from root to tip.

"I could perhaps be convinced to open my eyes, with the right incentive, mind you."

"How about this?" Harry took the tip of Severus' cock in his mouth, flicking his tongue over the already leaking slit.

"Or maybe this?" Harry swallowed Severus all the way down, taking him into his throat and issuing a hum that sent vibrations throughout the older man's body.

"Sweet Merlin you are good at that."

Sliding his mouth up off of Severus' shaft, Harry kissed along the pulsing vein until he reached the base and could move his lips to Severus' balls. The Potion Master was losing control of his ability to speak, and clearly would not be falling back to sleep any time soon. His whole body was tingling with endorphins, begging for release, as Harry fully engulfed him again and quickened and tightened his mouth's up and down movements along the quivering man's hardness.

Wrapping his hands around Severus' rock hard cock, pumping him as his mouth surrounded its head, Harry was salivating in anticipation of the taste of him. It didn't take long for his mouth to be filled with the salty, sweet release. Harry swallowed it down greedily and continued to lick the member clean as it deflated between his lips. "Delicious."

"That _might _be able to convince me to like waking up so early in the morning." muttered the Potion Master whose face looked absolutely sated.

"If you're lucky, that could be arranged, love." Harry pulled his naked body up from between Severus' legs and walked toward the loo. "I'm going to shower. We probably should go back to being doting fathers and pick Evan up at Bill and Fleur's. Not that I don't love the idea of staying naked and sucking your cock all morning."

A feral growl came from the Potion Master's throat, "Brat, you're making me hard again."

"Join me then." Harry said with a devil-may-care grin.

***

By the time Severus had retrieved their son from the oldest Weasley spawn's home later that morning, Harry already had an ethereal blond reporter sitting in their lounge. As a student, Luna Lovegood had honestly perplexed Severus. Many assumed her ditzy or generally just off her rocker, but her performance in potions was often at the top of her class. He always got the feeling that Luna knew more than she let on academically and beyond.

Bouncing Evan and balancing quite possibly every possession the baby owned, all of which Harry thought he would need on his one night away; Severus gracefully exited the floo and greeted their guest. "Miss Lovegood, I see that Harry was able to track you down expeditiously."

"Yes, Professor. I always have time for Harry. The issues of the Quibbler with articles on him always are our biggest sellers. Even more than the snorkeling tom-drooler expose."

Ignoring their conversation and Severus' look of confusion, Harry's eye lit up when he saw his son in Severus' arms. "There's my baby! Daddy missed you, Evy!" Harry snatched his son from the tall man and proceeded to kiss all over his adorable pink cheeks. Evan giggled and slobbered on his father.

"I wish I could rank such a greeting."

Giving Severus a look, Harry proceeded to kiss his cheek repeatedly as he had done to their son. "Is that better, love? I promise to greet you in that manner each time you walk into the room."

Slightly blushing about sharing such endearments with a virtual stranger, Severus cleared his throat "Do you have any questions for me, Miss Lovegood? I'm sure that Harry shared the general details of our relationship and Evan's birth."

"Yes, Professor. What are your intentions with Harry?"

Now it was Harry's turn to cough and flee the room. "Woah, she really cuts to the chase. I'm going to go change Evan. Why don't you sit down, Sev? Have fun Luna."

Severus was admittedly at a loss for how to answer a question that would be read by Harry's hordes of admirers. He figured the truth was his only real option, "I plan on spending the rest of my life with him. So few people find their soul mate, I must have done something right if I am able to spend my life with mine. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for Harry and our son. They are my life."

Luna smiled a true and heartfelt smile, "You know I love Harry, Professor. All of his friends do. I was a bit surprised to hear from him today, but I can honestly say that I have never seen him happier."

"Thank you, Miss Lovegood. I have never been happier either. I hope that this article will at least cut down on some of the backlash."

"It will, but it will be a bumpy couple of months, sir. Don't worry. Everything will be OK. Chaotic, but OK," she expressed in her typical unquestioning style. "I'll be off now. Tell Harry that the article will be in tomorrow morning's edition of the Quibbler. Good day, sir."

"Thank you, Miss Lovegood." He watched as the lithe blond skipped over to the floo and disappeared into the green flames. "Bizarre girl."

"Luna's not anymore bizarre than I am." Harry muttered as he walked into the great room. "She is different, but that is what I like about her."

Chuckling Severus replied "I never said I didn't like her, quite the opposite really. I am always impressed when students were not afraid of me. Miss Lovegood never so much as flinched in potions class. I don't think she got the memo that students fear me with every breath."

"I don't know if I got that memo either, my love." Harry smiled at his lover and came to hug him from behind. He held on tight, soaking in the warmth of the taller man. "The students will be here in a few hours, so I put Evan down for a nap. With all of the shock and awe that we are going to cause, I'm sure that he won't sleep through the sorting and opening feast."

Turning toward the man in his arms, Severus leaned down and kissed the pink, warm lips of his beloved. "Are you feeling nervous, Mr. Potter?"

"Maybe a bit. There's no turning back now, Sev. After tonight we are officially a family in the eyes of the wizarding world. We are unmarried wizards with a child, which is shocking enough. We are also both teachers here and we need to be respected as such. I hope that our students can get beyond the initial sensation that I am sure will be caused."

Wrapping his arms around Harry even tighter, the normally pessimistic professor tried to squelch Harry's fears. "The students will get caught up in their own gossip and drama after a couple of days, trust me on that. Otherwise, we have each other. We are a family now and nothing will change that. Regardless, I have learned that Evan can wiggle his way into even the coldest person's heart. Like some other green-eyed menace I know." Harry choked on a laugh. "Evan's personality, your power and connections, and my intellect, we can weather anything."

Nodding his head and shifting even closer to Severus, Harry let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. "You're right. I just hate disrupting the peace we have had over the last couple of weeks."

"Relax, my love. Let's take a nap and prepare for the monsters to inundate the grounds. This is the last bit of quiet we will probably have for some time."

Harry allowed himself to be guided to his bedroom, but instead of sleep, they gave in to the pull of their bodies.

***

Butterflies were fluttering in Harry's stomach as he and Evan made their way to the great hall to greet the students who had finally arrived at the castle. Severus, as a head of house, was needed to meet the Hogwarts Express an hour earlier, which left Harry to face the great hall alone. He felt like a first year again, with the nervous anticipation of what was to come. _Be a man, Harry. You faced fucking Voldemort, what can a group of children do that would be worse than him?_

Harry took a deep breath into his son's hair, his sweet baby smell calmed him and brought a smile to his face. "Alright little guy, time to face the music." Harry pushed open the heavy double doors of the room he had spent so much time in his youth. The older students were already seated by house at the long tables and talking amongst themselves. It took several minutes for the stares and whispers to begin, Harry was nearly halfway to the head table before he heard the gasps and excited chatter.

"Isn't that..."

"HARRY!"

"It's him!"

"Bloody hell, he is absolutely sublime."

"Why is he holding a baby?"

Harry saw his beloved, buttoned up in heavy black robes and clearly already irritated, standing at the front of the room, smirking. As he walked closer to him, Evan giggled and kicked his legs.

"Potter, you're causing quite the stir. Enjoying the limelight as always?"

"I can't help it if I'm universally loved, Snape." Harry winked at Severus and placed Evan in the high chair near the end of the head table and sat next to him, trying to ignore the stares from across the great hall. Placing a few colorful toys within Evan's reach, Harry noticed Minerva leading a group of tiny first years into the hall.

"Merlin, was I ever that small?" Harry muttered to himself.

Walking behind the table and giving his son a tickle, Severus sat directly on Harry's left. "You were actually much, much smaller. Nearly as short as Flitwick."

"Oh shut up. Not everyone can be born over 6 feet and gorgeous like you," Harry muttered quietly beside him.

Before the Potion Master could respond snarkily, the Sorting Hat began to sing from the center of the room. "Here we go again..."

Harry listened as each new 11 year old child was placed into their respective houses. Some family names sounded familiar: Christina Bones, Thomas MacNair, Adrian Davies, but the other children blended together. He tried to make a mental note of their names, anticipating seeing them in the classroom in a few days time, but knew he would need to be reminded. As the last student, a small, intelligent looking girl with brown ringlets who reminded Harry of Hermione, was sorted into Ravenclaw, Dumbledore stood up from his seat next to Severus and pointed his wand to his throat. His voice boomed "Greetings students new and old to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. As I tend to do each year, I have a few announcements to make before we indulge in the feast that our wonderful house elves have painstakingly prepared. I remind you all that entering the forest without a professor is strictly prohibited. There are dark and dangerous creatures in those woods. Please do not attempt to venture there alone. Also, the east wing of the third floor continues to be off limits to students. The last students who attempted to explore that area of the school are still missing." Harry smirked at the thought, knowing that he had explored that area countless times and was not subjected to any harmful consequences. It is the location of many of the staff quarters, and they like it as quiet and student-free as possible.

"Finally, I would like to welcome two heroes of the war back to Hogwarts. Professor Severus Snape, please stand. Professor Snape will return to his post as Potion Master, as Professor Slughorn has decided he would prefer to continue his retirement in peace. Professor Snape previously was in tenure at Hogwarts for nearly twenty years, and will continue as the Head of Slytherin House. Let's welcome Professor Snape back to Hogwarts." Harry heard respectful clapping from across the hall, with some louder pockets at the Slytherin table. Severus stood straight backed at his chair, and waited the requisite time before he seated himself again.

"In addition to Professor Snape, we have a new addition to our staff. Professor Harry Potter will now take over the Defense against the Dark Arts post." Students gasped and talked amongst themselves excitedly. "Please join me in welcoming Professor Potter to Hogwarts." Harry stood up awkwardly and gave a wave and smile to the students. There was a roar of clapping and cheering throughout the hall, highly concentrated around the Gryffindor table. He could see that small pockets of students at the Slytherin table were sneering at him instead of welcoming him back to Hogwarts. _Ahh...my biggest fans._

Harry returned to his seat in a hope that the raucousness would quiet. Severus sneered at him, "Quite the spectacle, Potter. I wouldn't expect any less from you."

"Oh just wait for it...I can guarantee the noise is going to get even louder in a minute, Sev." Seeing Dumbledore attempt to quiet the audience, Harry felt his heart jump into his chest, "Here we go, Sev. Hold on for the ride."

Albus Dumbledore's voice boomed across the hall, "I have one other very special introduction to make. I am thrilled to say we have a family with a small child residing at the school for the first time in many years. Professors Potter and Snape are returning to the castle in the company of their infant son, Evan Potter-Snape." Suddenly the hall went wild.

"WHAT?"

"Potter's a poof? No!"

"But he is so gorgeous!"

"Who would want to bed that greasy git?"

"TRAITOR!"

"Oh, I love babies!"

"SILENCE!" boomed the aged headmaster. "Please welcome Mr. Potter-Snape to Hogwarts. I expect that you will try to remember that an infant is in the castle and not go running around not watching where you are going. His safety is paramount." Harry looked around at the students scattered around the hall, their jaws hanging loose and trying to clap politely as the Headmaster requested.

Harry picked his son up from the high chair next to him and let him bounce on his thighs. He whispered into his ear, "Charm them, baby boy. Make Daddy and Papa proud."

Evan issued a high pitch squeak and giggle and brought the attention of the room directly on him. Tossing his hands in the air, bouncing and giggling wildly, he grabbed for his Papa next to him.

Some voices in the crowd, noteably all feminine voices, started exclaiming "Oh he is so cute!" "What a precious baby!" "Look at those big green eyes!"

Severus smirked at his son and picked him up onto his lap. Quietly so that only Harry and Evan could hear him, he whispered "Good work, son."

Under the table, Severus felt a hand rubbing his thigh. Harry turned to whisper in his ear "Our son is incredible."

Without question, Severus responded "Without a doubt. He takes after me, after all."

Harry chuckled, feeling some sense of relief for the first time in hours. Turning to whisper in his ear again, Harry quietly said "I love you both so much."

"We know, Potter." Severus took Harry's hand under the table. Knowing that his lover needed to feel the support of his family.

The students' eyes rarely left the head table throughout the magnificent feast. Severus could see signs of gossip and idle chatter continue to flitter through the hall. Girls whispering into each others ear, with their eyes locked on his lover. Though the Potions Master gave Harry a hard time about his popularity, he knew how uncomfortable the attention was making him. There were puppy dog eyes and broken hearted teenage girls throughout the hall that evening, and a few sets of burning, angry glares toward both men coming from his own house table. _Just wait until later, my snakes. You will not know what hit you._

***

A/N: The review button is below, I know you can see it!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be a literary genuis and multi-millionaire like JKR, I sadly am not and I own none of this intellectual property, except Evan. But you can borrow him if you want...

This fic is SLASH and will get fairly graphic at points, if you don't like it or aren't of age, don't read it.

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews guys! I love hearing from you. I sat down and wrote this entire chap and the next after looking at my reviews from Chapter 10. I really appreciate hearing from you!

****

The head of Slytherin House was known as a choleric and unfriendly man to most of his past students at Hogwarts. It was hard to maintain that wall of indifference with his own house, as they look to him as a parental figure during their months away from home. Severus entered the common room in the Slytherin dungeons where he had asked his entire house to gather, and saw the upper year students who he had watched grow from innocent children to young adults. He had comforted many of them during their first days away from home, and made sure that he had an open door if they were struggling with classes, family issues, or, most often, the harassment of students from other houses. Slytherins protect their own. It is their mantra. The cool, collected Potion Master knew that there was a division in his house currently: light and dark, winner and loser, victim and perpetrator.

"Sit down, everyone. Welcome to our new students and those second years that I did not meet last year while I was on sabbatical. I am Severus Snape, your head of house and Potions Master to Hogwarts. You can ask your upper year students to confirm that I am strict, but my rules are fair, and I have the highest of expectations of Slytherin House. Do _not_ get on the wrong side of my temper." Snape pointed to a seventh year student shuddering at a memory, "As Mr. Martin can tell you, it is not a pleasant experience and it usually only happens once."

He was in full dark, dangerous, scary professor mode, and Severus knew that he was putting the fear of God in the new students and hopefully some of the older ones as well. "My main rule is that Slytherin sticks together. We are the house that other students hate and often look at us with jealousy and malice. If you do not stand united, your time here will be painful, I can guarantee it."

Severus could see a group of students in the back of the room, all the children of known Death Eaters, glaring at him with contempt. "I know that many of your families were on different sides of the war, and some of you feel betrayed by me, but the war is over. We all need to realize that. Voldemort is no longer alive, and this house needs to _move on_." Severus glared around the room to emphasize his point.

"This is not a house of dark magic, no matter what other students may say. This is a house of strong, powerful witches and wizards who are crafty, intelligent, and well-connected. We are at our best when _we stay together_. Look around this room. There are only 49 students left in Slytherin if we add the 8 students who matriculated today, by far the smallest house due to the results of the war. I expect you to protect each other without question. If you are not supportive of your fellow Slytherins, you will answer to me. Regardless of what side you were on in the war, we are a family. Slytherin remains united." Snape let his dark eyes rake over the students seated around him. He saw the group in the back continue to stare at him in anger.

"Before I let you all settle into your dormitories for the evening, I have one last thing to say." Severus locked his eyes on the older students in the back of the room. "My family is off limits. Professor Potter and our son are not to be pawns in some revenge for the dark lord's fall."

David Dolohov, a 6th year whose father was killed in the final battle, scowled "You say that Slytherins always stick together, but where we you when our parents were being murdered, _sir? _You betrayed Slytherin for _Potter." _Dolohov spit out Harry's name like a disease.

Power prickled within Severus and he could feel his anger rising, his eyes intensified their glare at the clearly upset young man. His voice rose uncharacteristically with fury. "My alliance to the Order of the Phoenix does not defy any principles of my allegiance to my house, _Mr. Dolohov._ Slytherin is not a dark house or one that was uniformly aligned with Voldemort. Your parents all had different sides in the war, and I fought alongside many of them."

Severus felt his anger pique "_Professor Potter_, kindly remember to give him the respect that he does deserve Mr. Dolohov, is the most powerful and self-sacrificing wizard I have ever met. He will always work to protect the light and this school, Slytherin included, so yes I will continue to ally myself with him, regardless of our personal relationship. As for any anger you may feel personally towards Professor Potter, I would advise you to get over yourself. You will not win and Professor Potter doesn't take lightly to threats or assaults upon him or his family. As for me, if any of you so much as look at my son or his father in the wrong way, I am no longer your teacher or your head of house. I am a man who will not hesitate to protect what is his." Severus sneered and leveled his eyes around the room. He could see the goose bumps rising on the arms of the students. "Do not be the fool who puts himself on the wrong end of my wand when it comes to protecting my family."

"Now, I am dedicated to this house and all of the students in it. I will protect you as I protect my own son. If you need me, do not hesitate to contact me during my office hours from 3-5 every day or as needed. If I am not in my office or otherwise in the dungeons, just ask a house elf to contact me. They can quickly summons me from our family quarters. Are there any questions?" Seeing only fear and mild shock, Severus moved to exit the common room. "Sleep well, my snakes."

***

Harry was already in bed when he heard the door open to his quarters. Evan had quieted down immediately after returning from the opening feast and had fallen to sleep deeply as soon as he was placed in his crib. The young professor wanted to spend some time with his beloved before the busy day that he knew would be coming tomorrow, the Sunday before classes were to begin. Harry planned on spending his Sunday continuing to work on his lesson plans and he knew that the fall out from Evan's big reveal was going to be tiring, to say the least.

Harry smiled at the dutiful head of Slytherin House as he walked into the bedroom. "You look pissed off, love. Which of your snakes angered you?"

Growling, Severus muttered "Dolohov."

"Yeah, David was always a bastard, even though I only remember him as a third or forth year. His father was _scary_." Harry shuddered dramatically. "I would like to remind Dolohov that his big bad death eater of a daddy was taken down by all 3' 8" of Filius Flitwick in the final battle."

Smirking at the thought, the tension in Severus' shoulders decreased slightly. "Just watch out for him, love. He and his little group of would-be death eaters are not going to bow down gracefully and accept that their parents were on the losing side."

"Merlin forgive the person who tries to hurt you or Evan, Sev. I have a hard time with restraint when the people I love are threatened."

"That's what I told them. I think _most_ of them got the picture. I almost made a first year cry. _I've still got it." _Severus looked at Harry with unmistakable pride. Harry attempted to hide the chuckle that escaped his lips.

_"_Come and show me what you've got, baby. You make me hot when you turn into the dark, dangerous professor."

Pulling off his robes, Severus climbed on top of his lover. "As opposed to what? I would like you to know that I am always dark and dangerous...and do not forget terrifying."

Staring up at Severus, Harry couldn't help smirk in amusement. "I could never forget terrifying, my love. When you are home with us you are just...Papa. It is hard to think of you as the big scary dungeon bat when you are taking care of our son or making love to me. Sorry to say it Sev, but you may have become domesticated."

Feigning offense, Severus scowled "But do I still make you hot? Make you hard?" Severus latched onto Harry's neck and began to bite his sensitive skin.

"God, yes...feel how hard I am. I need you to fuck me baby. Hard and fast."

Teeth continued to bite down on the younger man's neck leaving harsh red marks along Harry's skin. Hands pulled off the Potions Master's clothes unceremoniously. Rock hard and impatient, Harry wanted his lover inside of him immediately.

Severus barely noticed that all of his clothing was removed, his tongue was too busy swirling around hard, sensitive brown nipples while his own potion stained fingers roamed Harry's toned body. Harry felt as if his nipples were hard-wired directly to his cock. Severus circled his tongue around one nub and blew a cold breeze of air that arched Harry's back and had him begging incoherently. Severus worshipped Harry's body; it had given his son life and gave himself indescribable pleasure. The older man's lips were making slow, wet trails along Harry's abdomen. Severus' dark head raised itself from Harry's body slightly and his eyes locked on Harry with undeniable lust just before plunging his mouth onto Harry's pulsating cock.

"Ahhhh...Sev...your mouth is amazing. Don't make me come like this though, I want to come with you on top of me deep inside my ass."

Growling at the thought, Severus moved his head off of Harry's shaft and reached into the drawer next to Harry's bed. Pulling out a tube of lube and coating his fingers liberally, Severus put his mouth back to work on the younger man's cock.

Harry's whole body was humming as he felt his lover engulf him in his mouth while a single slick finger teased his hole. He felt the finger enter him tentatively, getting through the tight ring of muscles easily and sliding in and out of him. "More Sev. I need more and _quickly._" A second finger was added and Harry felt a slight feeling of tolerable discomfort. The sensation was quickly washed away by the incredible feeling of Sev taking his sizable cock down his throat. _Merlin he gives new meaning to the term deep throat._ Harry was too lost in Severus' mouth to notice a third finger being added to his stretched hole. Harry whimpered loudly when Severus released his cock from his mouth with a pop. Beyond coherency, Harry moaned from deep in his chest and pulled his lover down into a seething kiss.

Without another word, Harry was entered swiftly and fully. Almost immediately he started seeing stars as his prostate was slammed. His legs were pushed up to rest on Severus' shoulders and Harry held on for the ride. His lover was over him looking fierce and incredibly sexy as he pounded into Harry's ass roughly. Harry preferred rough sex, despite the tender moments he loved to share with Severus. There was something purely erotic and masculine about a fast, hard, dirty fuck. It was what he wanted tonight and what Severus was giving to him in spades.

Both on the precipice of an incredible orgasm, Severus could feel his own balls constricting in response to the tight ass that clung to him with each thrust. He changed position just slightly and Harry's incoherent words of pleasure became louder. Harry's thighs tightened around Severus' body and he rocked further into the delicious pounding that his ass was receiving. "Ah...baby. I'm coming...fuck...come inside me baby. Come with me..."

As Harry's walls constricted around his cock, Severus emptied himself into his lover with a loud moan of completion. Feeling sated and slightly light headed, he collapsed on top of Harry. It took several minutes for Severus to come to again and realize that he was probably crushing Harry. They were both covered in a thin sheen of sweat and Harry's release was decorating their stomachs. With a quick cleansing spell, Severus pulled up the covers below their bed and curled his taller frame around Harry's blissed out body. "OK, Potter?"

"Never just OK, love. _Incredible._" Harry leaned back to kiss Severus sweetly. "But you're mine next time. I haven't been inside you in far too long."

"Perhaps that can be arranged," muttered the Potions Master. "As long as you don't get too used to it. I like you being underneath me while I make you scream."

Harry moaned and pushed himself back into the man wrapped around his body. "I will never not want that, Sev."

Severus' fingers combed through the Savior's hair, a surefire way to send Harry to sleep, and his thoughts drifted to how lucky he had become in the last year. _So much has changed since that fateful night last June._

_***_


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be a literary genuis and multi-millionaire like JKR, I sadly am not and I own none of this intellectual property, except Evan. But you can borrow him if you want...

This fic is SLASH and will get fairly graphic at points, if you don't like it or aren't of age, don't read it.

A/N: My story is not even 1 month old yet and it has well over 20,000 hits! Thanks for the wonderful messages and reviews! I have been getting truly inspired by then. Below is a look back to pre-Evan, pre-final battle. Enjoy!

**Flashback to when it all began…**

***

Harry had mixed emotions about graduating from Hogwarts. It was the first place that he ever felt truly at home, but he also knew he was no longer a student. A feeling of being beyond life as a schoolboy had plagued him for years now, since after Sirius had died. It was hard to see the importance in quidditch and teenage romances when you were responsible for the fate of the wizarding world. The last year had been a struggle to get through. He was far beyond the power and abilities of his classmates and often felt held back by having to sit through the required classes each day. His only release, where he learned what he needed to survive his destiny, was his private advanced classes with Professor Snape. Though they started as only advanced defense lessons, instituted by Dumbledore himself, Harry's own innate curiosity spurred adding high level potions, charms, and runes coursework as well. Two evenings a week locked away in the dungeons, turned into five or six nights that went into the early hours of the morning. The two men had worked passed their vehement dislike to just...intensity. Not anger or friendship but intense feelings of _everything_.

Harry's actual graduation ceremony was somewhat anticlimactic. He was done with school, but knew that he would be remaining in the castle with the rest of the Order over the summer. Something about the graduation ceremony made him feel lonely. His mates had their family, and while Harry knew he was loved, he didn't have anyone there just for him. The Weasley's were the closest thing to family he had, but their attention was mainly on Ron and their pride in his making it through Hogwarts without getting expelled from all of the golden trio's antics. Harry's quiet contemplation of the day continued into the party in Gryffindor common room. Though many of his housemates were staying on with the Order over the summer, he knew that none of their relationships would be the same. People had paired off: Ron and Hermione, Dean and Seamus, Neville and Ginny. Harry looked around the room and saw his best friends snogging passionately in the chaise near the fire, and other couples dancing or laughing together. Harry sat there with his half-empty bottle of firewhiskey with only one person on his mind. Emboldened by liquid courage, Harry snuck out of the Gryffindor common room and made his way toward the dungeons; totally unsure of what he would say when he got there.

With another year of students graduated, quite possibly the most trying group he had ever taught, Snape wasn't sure why he had a feeling of loss plaguing him that had him awake after midnight with a glass of scotch in his hand. A knock on the door of his private chambers was unexpected at this hour on the night when parties were going on throughout the castle. It was well-known that professors ignored graduation night festivities unless they got too out of hand. Opening the door, he saw a rumpled, bleary eyed Gryffindor leaning on his door frame with a bottle of Odgen's Finest dangling from his fingertips. _God he doesn't have any clue how bloody sexy he is. _

"Potter, most students don't choose to bring the proof of their violation of school rules directly to their professor. It takes all of the fun out of it for us."

"You are not my professor anymore, sir. I thought you might like a drink."

"Thank god I'm not, Potter. That was seven of the longest years of my life. I have a drink actually." Severus raised his glass of smooth brown liquid, "You can join me if you want though." Severus knew that drinking with students, current or former, in the middle of the night was not the best decision, but he couldn't find the words to send the young man away.

Watching Harry sink himself into his black leather sofa, Severus looked at him questioningly. "Do I want to know what has you roaming the dungeons at this hour when I can guarantee that there are countless young witches throwing themselves at you in the Gryffindor common room?"

"Witches don't do it for me, sir. Never have. I think they have given up by now."

"Ah, well I'm sure there are young wizards who are equally enamored with you, Potter. You're not exactly painful to look at or lacking in certain charm."

"Trying to sweet talk me, sir? It will get you everywhere..." Harry mumbled taking another swig from the firewhiskey bottle.

Snape blushed slightly and drained his glass in an effort to quiet his mouth from saying something else suggestive.

Harry smiled at him in his typical self-deprecating way, "Kids my age are kind of boring, sir. Over the last year or two, it just feels like there is less and less to talk about." Harry was clearly indulging in a bit of melancholy. "I mean, tonight I got stuck between the Patil twins who were trying to decide if they wanted to take their graduation trip to Greece or California. Honestly, should I share with them my post-graduation plans? They seem to all center around an ugly snake-like megalomaniac who wants me dead." Harry took another swig from the bottle resting between his legs.

"I can see how there might be a bit of a divide between you and your peers. What about Granger or Weasley? They tend to understand the nature of our world." Severus eased himself onto the couch next to Harry, grabbed the bottle of Ogden's and unceremoniously took a swig directly from the bottle.

"If you tell anyone I said this, you will be faced with some very nasty hexes that the twins have developed to shall we say...shrink...a man's anatomy, but they are always shagging. I'm perpetually the third wheel. Their extremely gay, extremely single third wheel."

"I see we are having a pity party tonight, Potter. If I had known, I would have tuned my violin."

Harry looked at him dead in the eye and let out a belt of laughter. "Thanks for putting it into perspective, Professor. I should shut up."

"Severus."

"Huh?"

"As you so eloquently put it, I am no longer your professor. You can call me Severus."

"That might take some getting used to, but I will work on it. Thank you, sir."

Harry watched Severus take another long swig off the bottle of firewhiskey that they continued to pass between them. His lips covered around the open tip of the bottle and Harry felt himself grow hard as he watched the liquid be swallowed down the man's throat.

"So, Sev, since we are getting right pissed, I think I should know more about you."

"Severus, the name is Severus. You haven't even said the whole name yet; please do not go truncating it like my blasted godson."

"Godson? Who might that be?"

"Draco, I thought by now that piece of information would be common knowledge. I don't simply favor him in the classroom because he is innately superior. He has been brewing with me since he could see into the cauldron."

"Hmmm...never knew. Malfoy isn't half bad actually. His father is a total wanker, but Draco seems to have matured into a fairly decent person, despite being an extreme prima donna."

Severus looked at the younger man with a confused look on his face, "Excuse me, did I hear you just say something positive about Draco Malfoy? The prince of Slytherin?"

Laughing, Harry replied "It may surprise many people that Draco and I can now be in a room together without drawing our wands. He floored me when he didn't take the dark mark and started spying for the Order. I had to look passed his _many_ faults when he went against his family's expectations of him. That takes a lot of courage and principles that I didn't know he had."

Impressed with Harry's reflection, Severus noted "It takes a lot out of Draco to go against his father, and I would hate to see what happened if he was discovered. Lucius isn't known as forgiving, even to his only child."

"He apparently takes after you then, sir. He is willing to do whatever it takes for what he knows is right. I guess it is somewhat of a shock that Draco agreed to be on the same side as me. I'm not exactly his favorite person."

Severus nearly choked as he downed another swig of firewhiskey. "You have the ability to ingratiate yourself to people who thought they despised you, Potter. I'm sure if I left you in a room alone with the dark lord, you would have him knitting you a sweater in no time."

Harry chuckled, "I'm rather like a stray puppy I've been told. I may infest your house with fleas and eat your favorite slippers, but I am too cute to turn out in the rain." Harry smiled wickedly at the man becoming inebriated next to him.

Severus felt heat flush his chest as he looked at Harry. _Yes, you are too attractive for your own good…for my own good. _

Harry looked blearily at Severus and snickered again. "No one knows this, but Draco and I had a right go at it under the quidditch stands once. He's fantastically hot, but it was rather like kissing my hand." Harry winced at his inability to keep his mouth shut. The alcohol had clearly removed his filter and replaced it with verbal diarrhea.

The imagery of Harry touching his godson made him shutter with a cold chill that slipped into his veins. "Merlin Potter, what made you think I ever wanted to envision you and my godson under the quidditch stands? Honestly. At least now I know why Draco is kicking and screaming about his father wanting him to marry Parkinson. She does look a bit like a pug, doesn't she?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the candid comment, "More than a bit, sir. Draco is totally gay. He's been through half of the boys in school by now."

Caught between a wince and a sneer, Severus replied, "Again Potter, these are not things I want to know about my godson. Let's move onto another topic."

"Alright, what about you? Men or women?" Harry knew that he would wake up embarrassed tomorrow if he remembered asking this particular question.

"This is not the topic I had in mind. My sexuality is not something I usually talk about with students." Severus took another long pull at the bottle of Ogden's.

"We already established that I am not your student, Sev. We are just a couple of pissed blokes."

"Fine. Men. Happy?" Severus answered exasperatedly.

"Very."

Without hesitation, Harry leaned over to the Potions Master and kissed him. Severus' brain was two steps behind and before it could tell him that the action was wrong, his body sunk into Potter's and his lips responded fervently. Harry was amazed at how soft the older man's lips felt as they met his own. At first he thought he would be hexed for his mindless bravado, but the feeling of Snape's tongue seeking entrance to his mouth assured Harry that the attraction he felt was not one-sided. Harry had not kissed many people in his seventeen years, maybe 6 or 7 at the most, but he knew for sure that he had never been kissed like this. It was as if something inside of him was being awoken and begging for more.

Their lips, tongues, and teeth explored each other's mouth. They would alternate between deep open-mouthed kisses, to nibbling, to sweet affectionate pecks. Neither man could get enough of the other, and both knew that something significant had occurred when their lips met. Pulling back slightly, but keeping his eyes locked on his former professor, Harry said simply "Wow."

As his brain engaged again, Severus realized what had just happened. "Damn."

Both men were breathing heavy and looking into the other's eyes. Harry knew that if they went any further, it would be something he would want to assure that he could remember every detail. "I should go. I don't trust myself to not take this too far tonight."

Staring at his shell-shocked companion, Harry placed a soft, solid kiss to his lips and moved toward the door. "See you tomorrow. Good night, Sev."

If it wasn't for the obscene amounts of alcohol in their bodies, neither man would have fallen asleep that night. Both dreamed of strong arms and warm lips, and what could be...

***


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be a literary genuis and multi-millionaire like JKR, I sadly am not and I own none of this intellectual property, except Evan. But you can borrow him if you want...

This fic is SLASH and will get fairly graphic at points, if you don't like it or aren't of age, don't read it.

A/N: This chapter has been giving me some trouble. I couldn't quite end it, so it is my longest one yet! The next will have some more action...no worries. Reviews are much appreciated, my loyal followers!

* * *

Breakfast the morning after the opening feast was chaos, yet again. When Harry and Severus walked into the Great Hall with their son on Severus' hip, the entire room went silent making it obvious what the buzz around the hall was about. Harry grimaced and it was clear that he had a short fuse in anticipation of the day.

"Honestly, didn't they get enough mindless gaping in last night? Do they think I am going to take you across the head table in the middle of breakfast?"

"As pleasant as that sounds, they're teenagers, Harry. I know that your adolescence was unusual, but most teenagers are fueled by gossip. It will pass." Severus said calmly. "Let's eat a nice breakfast and take Evan for a walk around the lake. Alright?"

Sitting next to each other at the staff table, Harry took Evan from his father and gave him a kiss to settle his own raging thoughts. "Yeah, let's just spend our last day without classes with our little guy and I will attempt to forget about the gossip mongers that apparently attend this school."

Harry tucked Evan into his high chair with his toys and noticed Severus scowling at something out of the corner of his eye.

"What did you just do, Sev?"

Severus attempted a look of confusion at his lover. "Honestly, Harry, what are you talking about?"

"You just banished something. Don't try to tell me that you didn't. What was it?"

"You don't need to worry about it, love." Severus was silently begging the younger man to forget about what he thought he had seen.

"Hand it over or you are going to be sleeping in the dungeons tonight, Severus."

With a sneer, the Potions Master reached across the Headmaster's empty seat and grabbed a hold of the Daily Prophet in front of Minerva. "Please remember that the baby is next to you..."

Harry took the thicker than usual Sunday Prophet and flipped it to the front page. Blazing across the front of the paper was his worst nightmare.

**The Chosen One and Ex-Death Eater Return to Hogwarts with Bastard Son**

_By Rita Skeeter_

_Sources inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry report that the Boy-Who-Lived-Yet-Again, Harry Potter, age 19, has returned to Hogwarts as a professor of Defense against the Dark Arts. Potter, a wizard with a sorted romantic past, attended the Annual Opening Feast in the company of Severus Snape, former Death Eater and reinstated Potions Master at Hogwarts, who is now revealed to be Potter's lover. Snape was young Harry's professor at Hogwarts for seven years and it is unknown how or when their romantic relationship began. All in attendance were most surprised by the introduction of their infant son by Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Sources claim that Evan Potter-Snape is no more than six months old and an adorable combination of Potter's boyish good looks and Snape's aristocratic features. The pair have been clearly attempting to keep their little mistake out of the public eye. The two professors and former Order of the Phoenix members are not married according to Ministry records, yet it is understood that they are allowed to live together in the castle. Does Dumbledore sanction Snape's affair with the wizarding world's young heartbreaker? Did their relationship begin while Potter was still a student? Was one of the men pregnant during the Final Battle? More information will be reported as it becomes available. No word yet on how Ginny Weasley or Oliver Wood are taking the news._

Severus looked at the father of his child, normally calm and playful and saw the anger and power rising to the surface. "WHO DOES THAT BITCH THINK SHE IS?"

Leaning in closely to Harry, Severus put his hands on his arm and dragged him closer. Knowing that Harry needed to be centered before his magic took off in the direction of his thoughts; the Potions Master leaned in to Harry and placed a solid kiss on his temple. "Listen to me love, you need to pull back. The students and the baby are here right now. You can't lose it."

"She called our son…she called him…"

"I know, baby, but she has called us both worse than that and we expected nothing better from the likes of her." Severus could feel Harry tensing again. "Pick up Evan. He will help us get through the meal. If we let people think that gossip matters to us, then we are letting that woman win."

Severus continued to calm Harry with his hands and whisper to him, mindless of the blank, dumbfounded stares that were looking up at them from the student tables. Severus Snape _never_ showed his emotions in public, other than anger and annoyance, but the students were witnessing an intimate interchange between their least favorite professor and the boy who sat amongst them only two years before.

Albus Dumbledore barged through the heavy double doors of the great hall with a foreboding look that made even Snape take notice. Instead of twinkling blue eyes and a mischievous, knowing smile, the students saw a fury in their Headmaster that was usually only bestowed upon dark lords. Dumbledore looked to his staff table at the opposite end of the great hall and saw his Potions professor speaking closely with a visibly distraught boy-who-lived. Without question, Dumbledore raised his hands angrily. Every copy of the Daily Prophet rose towards the ceiling and burst into flames at the sound of a loud, booming voice proclaiming _incendio._

Breathing a sigh of relief to know that he had support from his boss and mentor, Harry smirked at the Headmaster and slunk himself further into Severus' warm body. The two were nearly sharing a seat and their son looked thrilled to have his fathers so close together.

The Headmaster walked to the head table, picked up Evan from Harry's embrace, and sat down between Severus and Minerva. Evan was a social baby and was used to often being passed around from one red-headed relative to another, so he quickly adjusted to having a new person to entertain him.

"Good morning, my boys. How's my grandson this fine morning?"

Severus was trying to hold back his own laughter at the sight before him. The elderly wizard was turning his long, gray beard into a rainbow of colors to entertain the infant. Evan was giggling wildly as Grandpa Albus' beard changed from neon green to hot pink to electric blue.

"Evan seems to be doing much better than the rest of us. He is fed, changed, and ready for a little playtime before he heads back off to sleep. His daddy on the other hand might have to be sedated from charging the Prophet offices in search of Skeeter."

Looking toward Harry who was still fighting to maintain control, Albus shook his head. "That woman has really gone too far this time. I think her words this morning were simply punishment for you not giving her an exclusive with news of Evan's birth. I did not think that even she would try to vilify the names of two war heroes who have found happiness. I have already sent my rather scathing reply to the Editor in Chief of the Prophet himself."

"Thanks Albus. You did not have to get sucked in to this. I agree that it is likely that Skeeter's words were so vile due to her lack of information more than anything. The Quibbler article should also come out this morning. That is bound to be more level headed."

Before Dumbledore could even reply, the owl post descended upon the great hall. Harry scowled menacingly as countless owls carrying tell-tale red envelopes flew toward him and Severus. Without even removing his wand from its sheath, Harry raised a hand and silently destroyed every red howler message that came toward them.

The aged headmaster chuckled at Harry's powerful attempt at silencing his critics. "You do realize, my boy, that you will have students coming up to you for the rest of the year trying to get you to do the same thing to the howlers sent by their mothers? I am sure that there will be a line in your office following term grades."

Harry was inundated by mail that piled in front of his breakfast. He opened several envelopes to find good wishes from friends and former classmates.

"Sev, Seamus and Dean want to meet the baby, and I also heard from one of my many jilted lovers, Oliver Wood. Maybe we could have a party or something to introduce people we actually like to Evan. I can imagine that it is more than just our critics who are getting a surprise in the Prophet this morning."

"Actually, that is not a bad idea. I sent Draco an owl earlier this week explaining about Evan's birth, but I believe he is in Italy visiting Mr. Zambini. Hopefully, he will hear about it from my letter and not from the lovely article in the Prophet this morning."

"Oh, look a gift from Cho Chang. I wonder if this is an "I'm sorry I made you gay" present." Harry laughed as he held up an adorable mini _Falmouth Falcons_ jersey. "That was very sweet of her."

"See Potter, nothing to worry about. The people you care about aren't going to listen to what _Skeeter_ of all people has to say."

Harry scowled at the mention of her name. "If she comes near us, you are going to have to hold me back. She is quickly jumping into the top 5 list of people I most hate in the world. Riddle, Bellatrix, Lucius, and Pettigrew narrowly edge her down the list, but just barely."

"Honestly Harry, if she comes near us, I will not even attempt to stop you. I wish that she would remember how powerful you are. You might be just a pretty face to the tabloids, but you are also undoubtedly the most powerful wizard alive. _Skeeter_ might need to be reminded of that."

Dumbledore, whose beard and eyebrows were now Halloween orange, leaned over to his companions. "My boys, I have no doubt that Ms. Skeeter will get what is coming to her. Karma has a way of taking care of that. I expect that she is receiving many more howlers than came through to you today, Harry. Regardless of the antiquated notions of proper family values that some people retain, most witches and wizards realize what we owe the both of you after Tom's defeat."

For the first time that morning, Minerva, dressed in her tartan robes and now holding Evan in her lap, spoke up. "Miss Lovegood's article in the Quibbler is quite nice, boys. I think that it might negate Skeeter's harsh tongue."

Harry pawed through his pile of mail until he recognized the familiar purple type of the Quibbler. Though smaller in size than the Prophet, it was increasing in popularity since the war, despite the occasional odd content. The paper's relationship with the Savior himself had only helped it to earn legitimacy in the eyes of the wizarding community. The young professor beamed at the sight of the first photograph of himself, Severus, and Evan, all smiling and looking like that had a secret that no one else knew.

**War Heroes Welcome Son**

_By Luna Lovegood_

_Harry Potter, our beloved young hero who saved the wizarding world from Voldemort's throes, is proud to announce the birth of his first son, Evan Ronald Potter-Snape. Baby Evan was born on April 8__th__ to Harry, who gave birth to him, and his partner, Severus Snape. Evan is named in honor of Lily Evans Potter, Harry's mother who sacrificed herself for him as a child, as well as Ronald Weasley, Harry's best friend who died during the Final Battle last summer. Fellow Order of the Phoenix members Hermione Granger and George Weasley, owner of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, were named as Evan's godparents. _

_Both Harry and Severus are thrilled to be first-time parents to young Evan, and hope to raise him and any other children they welcome quietly away from the public eye. Harry will begin his first year as a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he will live with his partner and child. _

_Professor Snape has been the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts for nearly twenty years. He is well-known for his work as a spy against Voldemort during the last two wars and received the Order of Merlin, First Class, after the Final Battle at Hogwarts on July 31__st__ of last year. _

_The relationship between Professors Potter and Snape and the birth of their child has been kept quiet in an effort to protect all involved from rogue death eaters who have yet to be captured by the Ministry. In a candid interview, the new fathers shared with me that their romantic relationship began shortly before the final battle. Professor Snape had been a professor and comrade-in-arms to Harry for years, but the two grew closer following Harry's graduation as the war progressed. Both men admitted to being amazed by Professor Potter's pregnancy so early in their relationship, which confirmed their strong love and commitment to each other (see page 7 for an article on soul mates and unaided male pregnancy). Harry did not realize he was pregnant until after the Final Battle and medical experts were astounded by the ability of the child to survive Potter's role in ending the war. _

_Though they currently do not have plans to marry, they each expressed to me an undying commitment to one another and their growing family. Severus Snape, who can only be described as detached and unsociable by his former students and colleagues, looked positively enamored with his partner and son on my recent visit to their quarters at Hogwarts. The Potions Master shared: __"There is nothing that I wouldn't do for Harry and our son. They are my life."_

_This match may be a surprise to many in the wizarding world, but not to those who are close to the two. Albus Dumbledore, who looks upon Severus and Harry as sons and Evan as his grandson, shared with me his pride that the couple was able to find love together. The respected Headmaster expressed that "love is a rare gift, and I have never seen two more deserving souls." I must admit that I can only agree with Professor Dumbledore. Upon seeing both men together with their young son, pictured above, it is clear that they are a family filled with love and looking toward a promising future together._

Harry couldn't help but feel elated by the kind words, despite his burning anger with the article from the Prophet. Luna always managed to surprise him, and her piece in the Quibbler was the best invasion of privacy that he could imagine.

As Severus' eyes reached the end of the article, he grunted in acknowledgement. "Actually, that is better than I imagined. Let's hope that Miss Lovegood's article quells some of the interest in our lives. I would hate to hex the next person I see staring at us."

"Ugh, Sev. Honestly, I hate every second of this. Are you sure that we can't relocate? Maybe to America or some distant Siberian tundra? There is bound to be less interest in our love life there, right?"

"I think that vapid young witches would follow behind you panting regardless of where you tried to hide, love. We might as well wait it out. You are bound to get old and wrinkly sooner or later."

"Haha, old man. You will love me even when I am elderly and decrepit, as you will always remain twenty years older than me. Forever the cradle robber."

"Cradle robber? Hardly. For your information, I am only nineteen years older than you and besides, you aren't your typical teenager, love."

"I'm not your typical _anything_, Sev."

"Very true." The older man conceded. "Do you think we have been here long enough to escape?"

Harry raised himself from his barely touched breakfast. "I honestly don't care at this point. This morning has done nothing but give me a headache and make me reconsider not living my life as a recluse."

Harry picked up his son from Minerva's lap, receiving a warm and understanding look from her. "We will see you lot at lunch, where I can only anticipate another round of the students thinking that we are caged animals for their amusement."

"Mr. Potter, I know it is hard to see it now, but this too will pass. Adolescents are fickle and your rather dramatic return to Hogwarts will be off their minds in no time. Trust an old woman, who has been part of considerable bits of gossip herself, everything will be fine. Just take care of my little lion here, and don't let all of these nitwits bother you."

Nodding thoughtfully in appreciation, Harry snuggled Evan into him and tried to exit the great hall. With each new set of eyes that stared at him and his family, Harry could feel his anger and magic rising. Severus walked beside him and gave his infamous death glare, but it wasn't enough to keep several hundred teenage eyes from following them to the door.

When they finally made it to the corridor, Severus stopped him from progressing up the staircase. Without a question, he lifted his hand and muttered "Accio Harry Potter's Firebolt."

With an apologetic look into his lover's eyes, Harry nodded gratefully at the man who understood what he needed.

As the broom landed gracefully at Harry's feet, Severus took Evan from his arms and walked in the direction of their quarters. "Just fly, love. It will calm you down. Your magic is all over the place and you are just going to get more upset if you head home and climb the walls. Take as long as you need."

When Harry got outside and lifted off from the ground, he knew that his son's father was right. The boy-who-lived needed to feel the wind and put his very public life into the back of his mind. As the late summer sun warmed his skin and the breeze tangled in his messy black hair, Harry felt his tension headache subside and breathed deeply for the first time that day.

***

Much to the surprise of Severus Snape, he walked into Harry's living room to find one Hermione Granger lounged upon the sofa reading a tome on Ancient Egyptian Arithmancy.

Clearing his throat, Severus startled the beautiful, brilliant witch. "Some light reading for this lovely Sunday morning, Miss Granger?"

Shooting up from her recline and stashing the text away in her bag, Hermione Granger looked surprised to see the stoic Potions Master cuddling her godson so lovingly.

"Sir, sorry to interrupt your morning. When I saw the Prophet, I just jumped into the floo. I can only imagine the state that Harry was in this morning. I hope that he hasn't been sent to Azkaban already for some nefarious act upon Skeeter or another such scum."

Severus smirked slightly at the thought. "Amazingly, I kept Harry out of Azkaban for the time being. I can't guarantee anything the next time he sees that woman though. I thought that he was going to take the roof off the great hall when he saw that headline."

"I was having breakfast with the Weasley's this morning and I don't think I have ever heard so many curse words at the Burrow before. Molly sent a howler to the Prophet this morning that I am sure will live in infamy."

"I would think that all of Britain's reporters would know better than to cross Molly Weasley or her children. Skeeter deserves what she gets, which if I know the proprietor of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes at all, will be some very uncomfortable and untraceable physical problems that require her to spend many days in the loo."

"I may have heard a rumor from George about a mysterious box of chocolates that is being sent from a very secret admirer of that little bug. Serves her right."

Hermione was still fuming over the article that insulted not only her best friend, who had given up his entire youth for the wizarding world, but her sweet, defenseless godson.

"So, Professor, how does it feel to be back at Hogwarts again?"

"Miss Granger, as I understand it that you are my son's godmother and his father's closest friend, I think that calling me Severus would be more than appropriate."

"Of course, Severus, and please call me Hermione. Miss Granger makes me feel like I have forgotten my homework or something."

"I highly doubt that you ever had such an occurrence, Hermione. Tea?"

"Please." Hermione took her adorable raven-haired godson from the older man's arms. "If Harry isn't tracking down rogue reporters, where is he this morning?"

"I sent him to fly. I didn't think keeping him in an enclosed space was the best plan. I'm hoping that a couple of hours on his broom will calm his nerves a bit."

Taking her tea from the outstretched hand and sitting herself next to her former professor on the sofa, Hermione thought about the strange situation she was now in. Her least favorite professor in school, who did nothing but call her an insufferable know-it-all and torment her best friends during seven years of school, was having a cup of tea with her while she cradled his son. Her godson. _Bizarre. _

Without looking up from his tea, Severus Snape firmly and thoughtfully said "Thank you."

Hermione was nearly blown over by two words she had never heard from the head of Slytherin's mouth. "For what, sir?"

"For taking care of my family when I wasn't there. For making sure that Harry took care of himself and our son. For doing what should have been my job over the last year." Severus' voice caught in his throat. "If you ever need _anything_, I am in your debt, Hermione."

Startled by his honestly, Hermione felt unexpected tears threatening to fall. "All you have to do is make them happy, Severus. I love Harry more than anything else in the world, and I want nothing more than for him to be safe, happy, and loved. As much as I tried to take care of him over the last year, I am just his best friend. I patched him up on the surface, but I knew that he was still broken inside. He needs you." The far too intelligent witch kissed her godson's forehead. "They both do."

Severus took a breath and looked at his son and his godmother. "I am not one to discuss my feelings like some 5th year Hufflepuff." Severus let his mask drop slightly, and stared directly into her eyes. "But, I love Harry and Evan more than I ever thought possible. I will do everything in my power to make sure that they are happy and never doubt my dedication to them."

With watery eyes, Hermione smiled knowingly at her former professor's willingness to open up to her and was surprised as he continued.

"I don't think that Harry or I are ready for any more life changes right now exactly, but I intend on making him my husband. I already feel like we are a family, and I want you to know that I intend to be a good husband and father. You are Harry's family and I hope that someday we will see each other as the same. I know it is hard to look past my years of being…"

"A bastard?"

The Potions Master let out a throaty laugh. "That is an accurate term, I believe. Despite my being a total bastard to you, and your own rather annoying, revered intellect, I am willing to try and be open to a friendship of sorts. Harry and Evan love you, so I assume that you can't be as irritating as you were in Potions class all of the time."

Hermione couldn't help but giggle at Severus' attempt at reconciliation. "I think that we can somehow get beyond our former differences, sir. For the sake of the child, at least." Hermione joked with her best friend's clearly uneasy boyfriend. _Haha…Professor Snape is Harry's boyfriend. _

The two were able to maintain a stimulating and rather amusing conversation about the many rare Potions ingredients that Severus had obtained during his travels over the last year and barely heard the door open upon Harry's return.

"'Mione!" The sweaty former seeker exclaimed from the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey Harry, I just wanted to check on you after that bitch Skeeter's attempt at journalism. Severus and I got to talking and your little man zonked out on me. It's been a very eventful morning already."

"Severus, huh? I hope that you are not sharing all my secrets, 'Mione. I need to keep some mystery alive."

She smiled at him in a knowing manner. "Oh yes, Harry. You are so dark, brooding, and mysterious. I am sure that Severus here, the former spy, doesn't know what to do with you."

"Hey, I will have you know that not everyone thinks of me as their dorky little brother."

"I wouldn't quite categorize you as dorky, Harry. I mean, now that you have gotten rid of the glasses and you got a halfway decent haircut, some would even consider you quite handsome."

"Some? 'Mione, I will have you know that the readers of Witch Weekly find me to be extremely sexy and mysterious."

"Yes, well they also found Lockhart to be a dreamboat. Please do not allow them to inflate your confidence."

Severus watched the two best friends volley teasing comments back and forth good-naturedly. Their love for each other could be heard in their voices and gleamed in their eyes. They went on in a similar fashion for nearly ten minutes, until the brunette witch excused herself and returned to the Burrow.

"What did you two talk about, Sev?"

"Nothing that would interest you, I am sure. Our mutual intellectual pursuits. Nothing at all really…"

Harry gave him a knowing look and leaned in to press his lips to Severus'. _That can be your little secret, love. _

"Join me in the shower?"

_Click the review button below! Thanks for reading!_


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be a literary genius and multi-millionaire like JKR, I sadly am not and I own none of this intellectual property, except Evan. But you can borrow him if you want...

This fic is SLASH and will get fairly graphic at points, if you don't like it or aren't of age, don't read it.

A/N: Sorry for the delay! I've been out of town for a few days. Below is another flashback. Is the present/past thing confusing you or do you like it? Enjoy!

* * *

Harry laid awake the night before classes were to begin and listened to his lover sleep beside him. Severus breathed deeply and sounded at peace, despite the trying day that they both had. Harry agreed that the public outcry at their newly discovered relationship would lessen, but he wanted to just get on with living his life already. Sleep was alluding him due to his chaotic thoughts. Hoping to find peace, Harry moved closer to his sleeping mate and wrapped himself around his naked form. The feeling of their skin touching always calmed Harry and made him think about the first time they realized how perfectly in tune they really were.

_**Flashback**_

Severus Snape woke up the morning after Harry's graduation with a hammering in his head that he hadn't felt in years. Dragging himself to his potions cabinet in the bathroom, he pulled out not one, but two hangover potions. _What was I thinking? _Suddenly, it dawned on him that the happenings of the previous night were not purely fantasy. _Holy fuck…Potter. _

Snape sat down on the closed toilet seat to contemplate his memory of the Gryffindor's visit. A bottle of firewhiskey was at the start of the memory and led to revelations about a certain boy-who-lived liking blokes and snogging his godson. _And then snogging me. _

_Bloody hell. _

He sat there for a few minutes regaining his equilibrium and imagining the awkward conversation that was to come with the boy. _The man…boys don't kiss like that. _ He was bound to have little memory of coming to his professor's room pissed and proceeding to give him the best make out session he has had in years. _Be honest, Severus. The best make-out session ever. _

Severus could imagine Harry's embarrassment and hoped that their working relationship would be salvageable. _I will just have to try to forget about his lips, and his hands…and his tight ass. _The thoughts of the dark-haired Potions Master required his day to begin with an ice cold shower.

Harry was supposed to meet him in the Room of Requirement for training that morning, but when he hadn't arrived by half nine, Severus was convinced that he was too horrified by what had transpired in his sitting room that previous night. His head was filled with scenarios where Harry refused to speak to him further citing that he had taken advantage of the younger man. His head still pounding, Severus began pacing the room nervously. _I do not get nervous. This is ridiculous. The boy just needs to forget everything that happened. We just need to move on and mark it off as the results of too much alcohol and high spirits from graduation. That's it. Just forget about it._

When the normally acerbic professor saw the Chosen One walk through the door looking apologetic, he was too shaken at the sight of him to come up with a snarky greeting chastising him for his lateness. Shockingly, the Gryffindor beamed at the older man as he entered further into the Room of Requirements.

Severus' eyes were locked on the younger man walking toward him, and he felt an surprising hunger start to grow in his belly.

"Mornin' Sev." Harry stepped closer to the normally stoic professor and felt unsure of his reaction in the daylight. Despite the uncertainty floating around in his brain, Harry couldn't help but bring his hand up to the older man's face and direct their lips together forcefully. "I could get used to waking up with the taste of you on my lips."

Dumbfounded, Severus looked back at the boy questioningly but didn't know what to say about his greeting. He receded into the only interaction that made him comfortable - snide remarks.

"You're late, Potter."

"I know, sorry. I wasn't exactly in the most responsible state last night and I forgot to set my wand to wake me up. It won't happen again." _Hopefully, I won't have to wake up alone much longer. _

"It better not. I'm not spending time with you out of the goodness of my own heart. You need to take this seriously."

Severus received an apologetic look from the sleepy-eyed, adorable younger man. "I'll make it up to you later…I promise."

Again, Severus was uncharacteristically lost for words. _Who is this oddly confident and unquestionably gorgeous man and where is the messy-haired, quick-tempered Gryffindor golden boy?_

Severus was unable to stay focused during their lesson for the entirety of that morning. He expected an embarrassed, contrite hothead, but instead Severus was faced with looks of affection and barely contained lust. His own emotions simmered below the surface and he had yet to contemplate why Harry's reaction to their drunken liaison was affecting him so much. Severus' irritation was growing by the minute. His distraction was allowing his young student to get the upper hand and that was only fueling his annoyance.

Right when Severus was caught at a moment of reflection on what Harry's most recent stolen glance was supposed to mean, he was hit with a stunner directly in the chest. It was the first time that Harry had managed to best his former professor and he couldn't help but wear a triumphant grin when he leaned down to enervate Severus.

When long black eyelashes opened to reveal the older man's deep, ebony eyes, Harry knew that he was in trouble. Instead of mild irritation or even some small glimpse at pride, Harry saw raw fury and stepped back into the room.

"WHAT THE FUCK POTTER?"

"It was just a stunner, sir. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I'm not hurt you blasted fool and this has nothing to do with your damn lucky stunner. Stop fucking looking at me."

Suddenly understanding the situation, Harry could not hold back a proud smirk and a laugh.

The Potions Master jumped up off the floor like a man possessed and looked upon Harry was malice. "What in Merlin's name do you find amusing, brat?"

Harry knew that he was adding fuel to an already out of control fire, but he didn't let his cocky grin falter as Severus neared him.

"Have you forgotten the English language, Potter? What is so funny?"

"You." Harry knew that he was testing his boundaries with the other man. "You're distracted by my hot body and you can't even attempt to deny it."

"Just because we happened to share a brief, extremely drunk encounter does not mean that it meant anything to me." Severus hoped his words had sounded more convincing to Harry than they had to him.

Harry broke the distance between himself and his former professor. "Really? So why haven't you tried to kill me yet today? We have been dueling for over an hour and I haven't heard you cast a single unforgivable or potentially life-threatening hex. Usually you barely last five minutes before attempting to end my life or cause me some sort of painful disfigurement. What gives?"

"I…" Severus faltered on his words and tried to come up with the most normal, appropriate response for a teacher to give his pupil. _His pupil who he snogged within an inch of his life last night. _

Before his acerbic tongue could mutter another syllable, Harry launched himself towards Severus' lips. There was nothing questioning or tentative about their joining. They came together roughly and full of the passion that had been lingering in the air since the previous night. Severus felt an insistent tongue caress his lips and lost himself in the sensation. Hot, needy mouths battled for dominance, but the two men felt nothing but bleeding emotion. In a brief moment of cognizance, the former Death Eater realized that being with Harry like this was the first time that the ache inside of him had dulled since the dark mark first graced his arm. _He makes me almost believe that I could deserve someone like him. _

Their mouths broke apart with the same frantic craze as they joined. Harry looked expectant and almost fearful of the older wizard's outburst. Instead of a flurry of expletives, Severus only collapsed on the long navy couch that had appeared at one side of the room's library and sighed.

"What are you doing to me?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Sev. I have never felt anything like your kisses and I want more. I need more."

"You know who I am, Harry. Let's not confuse this for anything more than it can possibly be. We're clearly attracted to each other, but no one would tolerate me sullying your innocence."

"Sev, I'm not innocent. Stop looking at me like a student. I'm not your student anymore and I am not some wide-eyed virgin. I'm a man. A man who wants you. I couldn't give a flying fuck what anyone else thinks. You make me feel…"

"Feel what?"

"Everything. You just make me feel. It's been a long time since I allowed myself to feel anything but anger and protectiveness. You make me feel like I could to be more than a weapon. Like I deserve to have a life beyond this war."

Severus ran his hands through his long black hair and rested his face in his hands. He didn't even raise his eyes when he whispered "Potter, you always do this."

"What is it that I _always _do? Other than drive you mad?"

"You manage to _complicate_ everything you touch."

Harry took the words like a blow and could feel his practiced detachment slipping into place. "Wow. Alright, we'll I will leave and try to uncomplicate your life a little. Just give me a couple of days to lick my wounds in peace and I will try to figure out a way to put aside these feelings so we can keep training."

Though he thought for a moment that it would be better for Harry if he forgot their few bouts of explosive passion, Severus couldn't allow him to walk out the door and away from him. Lifting off the couch and striding towards his fleeing companion, Severus felt his heart in his throat for not the first time that morning. The taller man grabbed the teenager's arm and pushed him against the closed door, pressing his own hard body into Harry's. Both men could feel the joint exhalation of breath when their bodies came together.

"I never said I couldn't handle the complications."

Harry nearly screamed in pleasure when he felt warm lips connect with the pulse point in his neck. The Gryffindor's head tipped back and rested on the door behind him to allow Severus access to his neck. Harry felt like fire was engulfing him from the inside, and he rolled his body against the larger one pinning him to the door.

"Are you sure, Harry? Can you handle me? Are you sure we can deal with this?"

"Shut up and fuck me, Sev. I don't want questions and doubt. I want to be yours."

A growl burst from Severus' chest and he could feel his body gearing up to claim the willing younger man beneath him. A momentary thought of the consequences was pushed aside when the Potions Master felt insistent hands working down the buttons on his robes.

Somehow hands made it through the layers of fabric and caressed Severus' naked chest. Harry threw the older man's robes and shirt on the floor and took in the chiseled chest that was revealed. A flush spread across Harry's face and torso and he felt an animalistic urge to claim the man before him. Harry used his upper body to switch places and push Severus against the door. Without a moment's hesitation, Harry moved his mouth to the naked chest before him. There was not a place that his tongue or teeth didn't assault. Severus let out a soul-shattering, and potentially embarrassing, moan when the black-haired boy tongued his nipples. Harry felt powerful in the reaction that he was able to elicit from Severus, and he heard a deeper, richer groan when his hands worked the buckle of the Potions Master's belt. Harry knew what he wanted and unzipped his lover's pants with a seductive stare as he dropped to his knees.

"Sweet Merlin, Harry."

The debauched look on his former student's face as Harry slid down his pants and boxers was something that Severus knew he would never be able to erase from him memory. Undeniable enraptured lust.

Still leaning against the warded door, Severus could do nothing but allow his eyes to roll into the back of his head and let out a throaty groan as Harry took his cock into his mouth for the first time. It was too much for the older man to bear. Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived and Gryffindor golden boy, was on his knees pleasuring his most hated professor. Harry's big green eyes looked up at him through heavy lids and thick lashes and locked onto his own captivated eyes. Harry swirled the head of Severus' cock with his tongue and then nibbled along the vein that ran on the underside of the Slytherin's rock-hard length, drinking up the salty liquid that leaked from its head. With another deliberate look upward, Harry took the entire substantial length of Severus' cock into his throat and bobbed his tight mouth up and down his shaft. Harry was nearly choking at his size, but he was enjoying his control over the normally unflappable Potions Master.

Harry popped his mouth off his lover's engorged flesh and gave Severus a challenging, lust-filled stare.

"I'm pretty flexible. Do you prefer to top or bottom? Or do you want me to make you come with my mouth?"

_More. I just need more. _"Ah…_shit_. I prefer to top, but I think I will come too soon after what you just did to me. You can…but I haven't received in a long time."

The smaller man raised himself out of his kneeling position and removed his t-shirt with one swipe of his arms. Severus got his first glimpse of Harry's cut abs, narrow waist, and broad shoulders, and amazed himself by hardening even further. Harry led his former professor to the bed that had materialized without either of their conscious knowledge, and pushed him to lie on his back. Slowly and with seductive deliberation, Harry locked eyes with the aching, nearly out of control spy and dropped his pants and underwear. He allowed the reclined man a few moments to stare at him and savored the feeling of those dark eyes drinking him in. Harry knew that he was impressively endowed, even more so than the man who he had just taken in his mouth, and he hoped that it excited Severus to see how hard he had made him.

Harry moved to the bed and relaxed himself on top of the taller man, laying kisses along his neck and chest. Harry found some lubricant on the table beside the bed and coated his own fingers liberally. As he prepared the moaning, incredibly sexy man beneath him, Harry's lips returned to Severus' and they got lost in their passion. Their lips didn't part until both men sighed as Harry slid himself into his lover's body. He stayed in place for several moments, allowing the man beneath him to get used to the feeling of fullness. Nothing had ever felt so right to Harry before. Severus was tight and warm and felt like he had been crafted to fit Harry's length. As Harry began to move slowly, he locked his gaze upon Severus and didn't allow their eyes to break connection as they moved together towards completion.

"Fuck Sev. You're so tight. This might be my new favorite place."

"Harder. I want you to come with me, Harry. Come inside me."

Harry changed his angle slightly and increased the pace of his hips, feeling Severus thrust upward to meet him. He knew that he was slamming the older man's prostate with every thrust and tried to get as deep as he could. From the panting in his ear, Harry knew that Severus wouldn't last much longer at the pace they were going. He could feel his own climax bubbling to the surface, and didn't want to hold back any of the feelings that were inside of him.

With only a half dozen more strokes, Harry felt Severus tighten around him as he reached his peak and his cock immediately began to pulsate inside of his lover's ass. _Holy hell. I knew that sex was good, but I never imagined it could feel like that. _

Harry collapsed on top of Severus' naked, sweat-soaked body breathing heavily.

"Wow."

"Indeed, Potter. I can't fault you for your monosyllabic response. That was 'wow.'"

Harry laughed and Severus could feel the deep movements of his chest on top of him. Harry kept whispering kisses along the Potions Masters throat, not wanting to come down from their high.

"Sev?"

"Potter?"

"You're not going to turn me away now, right? I hope that we can do that again. A lot."

Severus knew that he has a lot to think about, but could not imagine wanting to run from the feelings that had been elicited in their lovemaking.

"No, love, I don't think I could step away from this even if I wanted to. Though, we were expected at lunch about 15 minutes ago. They might send a search party if we don't show up soon."

Grinning at the normally reserved man's use of an endearment, Harry reluctantly pulled himself off of Severus and hopped out of bed in search of his clothing.

"Tonight? Can I come to your rooms later, Sev? I have my own room now, so I don't think that anyone would really notice my absence."

Severus knew that they were taking a chance, but there was no hope in resisting the pull of their bodies. _And whatever else it was that I feel when I look at him. _

"As long as you can be discrete, I will set the wards to allow you entrance to my quarters."

Harry felt a wave of affection bubble up in his chest. Re-warding his private quarters spoke of more than just a quick shag. _I deserve to find love and this already feels like the closest thing to it that I have ever felt._

***


	15. Chapter 15

As always, everything in the HP world belongs to JKR and we all love her for it!

A/N: I am so sorry for delaying in posting. I am a teacher and school has started back up! The last month or so has been nuts and you can probably see bits and pieces of my feelings towards my job in this chapter. I hope that you enjoy this and I promise to update again soon! My goal is to write another chapter this week. Do you want it dirty and full of sex? Let me know! This chapter is my longest yet - I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

The Chosen One, the savior of the wizarding world, the boy who lived. Whatever you might call him, Harry Potter was nervous. Big, hippogriff sized butterflies were coursing through his stomach as he sat at his desk waiting for his class to filter in to sit in the same desks he once occupied in the Defense classroom.

As the room began to fill with diminutive, pre-adolescents, Harry felt his nervousness abate slightly._ It's only first years. They're eleven years old. I'm worrying over nothing._

"Good morning class, my name is Professor Potter. As the headmaster announced at the opening feast, this is my first year teaching, but I hope that we will have a productive year. I have no doubt that you probably all think you know a lot about me from the papers, but I can tell you that only about half of it is true. Before we start our lesson, I would like to give you some time to ask me any questions that are on your mind."

Eighteen faces looked up at him expectantly. One hand slowly raised itself to shoulder level. Harry chuckled at their temporary hesitance.

"Yes, you with your hand up. What's your name?"

"Christina MacMillan, sir," said the slight, blond Hufflepuff.

"What question do you have for me, Miss MacMillan?"

"Well, sir, my brother graduated two years ago and he told me stories about you. He said that you started a club when you were a fifth year called Dumbledore's Army that he was part of. Is that true or was he just blowing smoke?"

Harry snickered at her comment. "Is Ernie your brother, Miss MacMillan?"

"Yes, sir."

"He is a good bloke, Christina. You are lucky to have him for a big brother. I have high expectations of your class work, as your brother always excelled academically."

"Yes, Ernie was a prefect and I hope to be one as well."

"Excellent goal, Christina. Well, everyone knows from the Prophet that I defeated Voldemort, right?" The students nodded their head vigorously and some gapped at the use of the still taboo name. "Though the Prophet would like you to believe that I defeated Voldemort alone with both arms tied behind my back, I had loads of help. Not only professors and members of the Order of the Phoenix, as you probably read about, but my classmates as well. Christina's brother, Ernie, is a strong fighter. He has a real knack for defensive charms. He took out several Death eaters on his own in the final battle." Harry could see Christina beaming quietly at her desk.

"The answer, Miss MacMillan, is yes. During my and your brother's fifth year, we had a less than adequate professor teaching us Defense against the Dark Arts. Like Christina's brother's talent for charms, Defense was always my strong suit. My best friend, Hermione, decided that since we weren't getting the proper training in the classroom, that she would force me to teach other students defense spells and strategies. We called ourselves the DA – for Defense Association or Dumbledore's Army depending on who you ask. Though it was a lot of work for a student, I have to say that it gave me some practice for teaching you lot."

Some students smiled and looked more at ease with their new teachers. Another hand shot up behind Christina.

"The Ravenclaw in the back row. What do you have to ask me?"

"Good morning, sir. My name is Tyler Andrews. My parents are both muggles and I had never heard of magic or Hogwart's or even you until I turned eleven in June. One of my housemates said that you didn't know about magic until you came to Hogwarts either. I'm sure that can't be true with how smart and powerful you are, but I thought I would ask."

"Your friend is absolutely right, Mr. Andrews. My parents were both magical, but as many of your peers from wizarding families know, they were killed when I was a baby. I grew up with muggles and I didn't know magic existed until July 31st of my eleventh year. Your smarts or power does not necessarily come from your family line, as I can assure you. My best friend, Hermione Granger, the one who helped to start the DA, was muggleborn and she graduated first in our class, not to mention was instrumental in saving my life countless times and ending the war. Your skill as a wizard and as a student in my class is going to come from hard work and good instincts."

Harry could see Tyler bounce excitably in his seat at his response to his inquiry.

"Anyone else want to ask a question of me?"

"Are you married to Professor Snape, sir?" Harry heard from a tall, lanky Hufflepuff in the first row.

_Even the first years want to know all about my personal life. _

"What is your name?" Harry muttered pointing to the boy who spoke.

"Chris Parker."

"Mr. Parker, does your family get the Daily Prophet at home?"

"Yes, of course, sir."

"As you can probably imagine, both Professor Snape and I have had our names and faces on the cover of that paper too many times to count. Not all of it was good and not all of it was true. We both try to be very private with our personal life as a result of some of the media attention we have received. Do you understand that?"

"I'm sorry for prying sir. I know that everyone is talking about it, and I didn't know what the big deal was."

"Well, thank you for asking _me_, Mr. Parker. Usually people just make it up. To answer your question as succinctly as I can: No, Professor Snape and I are not married, but we do love each other and have a son together. We will probably marry one day, but we have had a very busy year and we haven't gotten around to it yet."

Harry let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. The student seemed to be satisfied with his answer, and Harry silently prayed that he didn't ask anymore probing questions.

"OK…let's get on with class. If you have more questions for me, please do not hesitate to come up to me after class. So, who can tell me why we study Defense against the Dark Arts?"

***

Severus found Harry asleep on Evan's floor when he walked into their quarters. The baby was rolling himself around the warded play area that Harry had erected and drooling mercilessly.

"Hello son. What is wrong with Daddy? One day and he is already down for the count?"

Evan giggled madly at his Papa and pressed his wet, slobbery face to him in what could resemble a kiss.

"Why thank you for that, Evan. Why don't we give kisses to Daddy as well? Nice big slobbery ones, love."

Harry awoke to the feeling of slow, tingling kisses to his neck. The feelings of pleasure were squelched when a wet, gooey mouth dribbled onto his cheek. As his eyes flew open at the feeling, Harry could not help but laugh at his family lying next to him.

"You just had to wake me up with wet Evan kisses, didn't you?"

"Evan lost his playmate, so he had to get retribution somehow."

"God, Sev. I don't even remember falling asleep. I'm glad I thought to ward his play area or he would be in the kitchen playing with matches."

"Matches? He is 5 months old, Harry, and we are wizards. Do we even own matches?"

"You know what I mean. I don't think I have ever felt so tired. Those little miscreants took it out of me today. I only had first and third years today – please don't tell me the older students are worse!"

"You were, but most of my students are scared of me by 3rd year and cower at the sound of my voice. You should try my tactics and your upper year classes will be quiet and hard-working."

"Somehow I don't think I can get quite the same effect as you, Sev. But I take back every comment I ever made about you being unfair or mean or heartless in class. They deserve it."

Severus smirked triumphantly. "I have won this battle and taken you over to my side. Let's go to the Great Hall for dinner and we can plan the destruction of these blasted students."

"Can you carry me?"

Severus swatted at his lover playfully, and pulled him to his feet and toward the door. The three departed to dinner, but knew it would be an early night for their family that evening.

***

The week flew by and Harry could barely wait to get to bed each night. His days were spent caring for Evan and teaching inquisitive young magical minds. His nights, after he put his son to sleep, were filled with perfecting lesson plans, correcting assignments, and a few stolen minutes with his lover. When Saturday arrived, Harry woke for the first time all week feeling somewhat refreshed, but frowned when he stretched out in bed and found it empty. Stumbling haphazardly to his dresser, Harry pulled on a pair of low riding pajama pants and ventured out of his bedroom. He found Severus hunched over flipping pancakes and Evan banging his toys together in his high chair.

"Look Evan, Daddy has finally decided to join us."

"Sorry, love. I didn't even hear you get out of bed. I was down for the count. What time did Ev wake up?"

"A little before 7. I thought that I would show some mercy for you and let you sleep."

"Thank you for that. I finally feel like a human being again. Why didn't you tell me how exhausting teaching was?"

"I think I forgot what a shock to the system it is. It gets better, I promise. Once you get through your first couple of years, it doesn't feel so daunting."

Harry looked at Severus incredulously. "I will believe that when I see it. Right now, I just want to spend my weekend with you two and relax before another week begins."

Harry picked Evan up from his high chair and tossed him in the air playfully. "Are you ready to see Aunt Hermione today, Ev?"

Despite the response of drool and giggles, Harry didn't let it stop his conversation with his son. "Auntie is going to have some of Daddy's friends over to meet you, baby. We are going to have a cook out and Papa is going to hold his tongue and have so much fun."

"I will hold my tongue if Molly Weasley does. I won't have a repeat of what you told me happened the last time you saw her."

Harry scowled at the thought. "Hermione says that she knows that she has to accept you if she wants to see Evan and I. Evan is her grandson in all but blood. She will do anything for him, including playing nice to a git like you."

Harry felt arms come around him from behind. "A git? That isn't what you said to me last night when you were screaming my name."

Shifting Evan to his hip, Harry leaned further into his beloved and feelings of warmth and protection washed over him. "Mmmmm…if you're good today, maybe we can have a repeat."

Severus chuckled and placed soft kisses on both Harry and Evan's soft, dark hair. "Sit down, love. I played Susie homemaker this morning and made pancakes. You are going to need your energy."

****

Harry silently cursed his best friend for forcing him to agree to host the party at the Burrow. _What was I thinking? I will be lucky if Molly and Severus can keep their wands hidden, let alone their words tame. _Harry had decided to apparate with Evan and Severus to the Burrow, in an effort to introduce Severus to his family properly – at the door with respectful exchanges of pleasantries.

Harry stood at the large, slightly crooked door to the Burrow and hesitated. He could hear the sounds of friends and family talking animatedly in the back yard, likely complimenting Molly for her excessive amounts of good food and drink. Harry couldn't help but bite his lip and shuffle nervously next to Severus.

"What exactly is the problem, Harry? Not that I am anxious to get to this party…but it isn't like you to resist spending time with your family."

"I don't know…I just don't want a repeat showdown with Molly. She's scary when she gets all mother hen on me and I want her to accept our family. I can't help it. I love her, regardless of her ridiculous temper and penchant for meddling."

"She will get over it, love. She has no other option. I'm not going anywhere and Evan is clearly both of our sons. She just needs to see that we love each other and are good parents. I hope she will back down when she doesn't see Evan dressed in high-collar black robes and sneering at five months."

Unable to hold back a burst of laughter, Harry knocked at the door and waited for a moment before it flew open as if an explosion.

"Hey Harry! Professor," spoke the youngest Weasley. "Why on earth are you knocking on the door, Har?"

"I didn't just want to barge in now that I don't live here anymore," Harry said matter-of-factly. "Hi Gin. Missed you." Harry leaned into his younger friend and hugged her tightly.

"Missed you too, Har, but that is ridiculous. If you start knocking on the door and wanting someone to get up and answer it, we are going to call you Percy and make comments about the stick up your arse. Now hand me my nephew or be prepared for a jelly legs jinx."

Harry acquiesced without any hesitation. There was no doubt in his mind that Evan would be held and hugged all day and would probably not make it back into his or Severus' arms before nightfall.

Harry took his tall, slightly tense looking lover's hand in an uncharacteristic show of togetherness. Instead of discomfort, Harry felt waves of relief vibrate off of Severus.

"Don't leave me alone to get eaten by the sharks, love. I have just willingly walked into the Weasley residence and I worry that I may not make it out alive. One of those red-headed menaces likely has the place booby-trapped."

Before Harry could respond with a humorous retort, a cacophony of noise enveloped the new arrivals.

Harry held onto Severus' hand tighter as he walked out into the frenzy of the backyard of the Burrow. He saw his family, former classmates, and Order members. Seamus, Neville, and Dean were all hovering around the food table in good cheer when Harry saw them out of the corner of his eye. He let go of his overwhelmed looking partner's hand, and jogged over to his former roommates.

"Harry!" they all said in unison.

Seamus began gesturing wildly and enthusiastically greeting the former Gryffindor seeker. "Hey mate! That is one cute baby you have. By the way, I can't believe that you are back at Hogwarts…insane, mate. I couldn't wait to get out and you ran right back! And…Snape. Merlin, Harry, you sure know how to surprise a bloke. I saw the Quibbler and I nearly choked on my breakfast. No one would have guessed that one!"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at Seamus' ramblings in his incomprehensible Irish brogue.

"You know me, always trying to keep people guessing," Harry joked.

Harry felt an arm slide around his waist and the comfortable weight of the man he loved settle against him.

"Mr. Finnegan. Mr. Thomas. Longbottom. I see that you are keeping Harry amused, as you often did in my class."

Dean straightened his back and reached his outstretched hand towards his former professor. "Afternoon sir. Let me congratulate you on the birth of your son. I haven't been able to steal him from any of the overly excited girls, but he looks like a very happy baby."

"Thank you, Mr. Thomas. Evan is an enjoyable addition to our life. Harry told me that you and Mr. Finnegan have both taken jobs in the Ministry. It is good to hear that our government is no longer full of pretentious Ravenclaws and rule-abiding Hufflepuffs."

"Was that a compliment to Gryffindor, sir?"

"Have you ever heard me utter such a thing? Of course not. I simply believe that the Ministry could benefit from a little shaking up, and if anyone can break rules and cause anarchy, it would be a Gryffindor."

Harry was amazed by the ease of conversation between his lover and his former students. _Maybe this won't be so bad._

With that thought, Harry saw the plump body of Molly Weasley step out of the kitchen door with a tray of sweets. "Alright Sev, let's get this over with."

"Couldn't one of your friends cast the cruciatas upon me instead?" The Gryffindors all chuckled at the unexpected humor from their former most hated professor.

Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed Severus' hand. "If I have to handle her wrath, you need to be there too. You're the one who got me pregnant."

"Ahhh…yes. You lie blameless in that situation."

Laughing, but silently shaking in his boots. Harry dragged Severus away from his friends, "Come along, dear."

Both men could hear Neville, Seamus, and Dean roaring in laughter behind them. Neville seemed to fear Severus less than in his school days, but Harry doubted that he would want to be left alone in a room with his partner. That would take some time.

The couple hesitantly approached the food table where Molly was organizing the numerous dishes that were presented on the table.

"Hi Molly," Harry said confidently. "Thank you for hosting the party. It is great to be able to finally introduce Evan to everyone we love."

Molly looked at the two wizards before her skeptically and groaned when she saw their linked hands. "Of course, Harry. I would do anything for Evan. He is my grandson after all. He has no control over the inappropriate relationship of his parents."

Severus scowled and Harry could feel this body tense and his teeth grind together as if trying to hold back a pointed retort.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley. I thank you for allowing Hermione to invite so many people and disrupt your Saturday afternoon. I have no doubt that _my son_ is going to love all of the attention."

Molly looked at Severus Snape with a sneer that could rival even his coldest glare. "Snape. Evan will have a wonderful day, I am sure. He and his father need to be reminded how many people love and want to protect them."

Harry did not dare to interrupt the volley between the two forces of nature. He knew that it would stay civil on the surface, but both were battling for power in the situation._ I love Molly, but Severus is Evan's father and he is what matters._

Severus pulled Harry closer to him and put his arm around his shoulder in unspoken ownership. "I agree. All I want is for my family to know they are loved and protected."

Molly nearly grinned at his quiet revelation, but didn't let either man have the satisfaction. "Very well. I need you both to go into the kitchen and bring out the cake. And Harry, no sticking your fingers in the icing."

Both men let out breaths that they didn't know they were holding. They saw Hermione in the kitchen using her wand to write on the large sheet cake that sat on the kitchen counter.

Harry leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. "Hey 'Mi. You missed the fireworks with Molly. She and Severus tried to stare each other to death."

"Haha…I am so sad I missed it. I doubt it will be the last time though and I will be sure to get a front row seat next time."

As the two friends laughed uproariously, Severus watched the tall, lanky body of George Weasley slide into the kitchen. "Beware my friends, the punch is now spiked. I want to see if we can get Mom and Dad drunk like we did at Christmas."

"Mr. Weasley, still causing trouble wherever you go?" Severus questioned.

"Of course, Snape. What is life without a little mischief? At least I am not running around impregnating men half my age. Not everyone can cause that much chaos unintentionally."

"Point taken." Though Severus moaned and groaned about having to deal with the Weasley twins while at Hogwarts, he actually found them to have been an amusing duo. George especially had excelled in potions, which is evident in his complex treats and potions they he sells at that blasted joke shop. His son would learn the sillier side of potion making from his godfather.

"Now, Snape-o, where is my godson? I would like to _test _a new little toy I have been working on. Since you are a man of science, I am sure that you will feel differently than dear old Harry here about using Evan as a test subject. Science is what matters, right?"

Severus gave him a slightly affronted smirk. "If I see you use my son for a single experiment, I will take that as a sign that I can use _you_ for my own experiments."

"And check mate, sir. I look forward to more discussions of our mutual scientific interests…but alas, I must cause enough mischief today to make up for not only myself but my dear departed twin. Perhaps I can convince Bill to let me borrow Victoire for a bit…"

Harry chuckled at the whirlwind that was George Weasley. Never a dull moment.

***

Harry enjoyed his day catching up with old friends, which was something that he had not really spent much time doing since he found out he was pregnant with Evan. He politely wished everyone good-bye well passed the dinner hour and found Severus walking along the back quidditch pitch with a sleeping Evan drooped on his shoulder.

"I would say that was a successful party, love. Our 'coming out party' as a family for lack of a better term."

"Evan clearly enjoyed it. He has barely moved since the last of those bloody Gryffindors dropped him in my arms over an hour ago."

"He will sleep well tonight. Maybe give his fathers some much needed adult time…"

"If that is what is on your mind, let's go say our goodbyes and floo home immediately. I am feeling magnanimous today, so you might get to be in charge tonight."

Harry broke out in a toothy grin. "I hope my family doesn't think it is rude that I am about to cut and run, but I want you all to myself." Harry leaned toward his lover, careful not to squish their slumbering son, and bestowed a chaste, but promising kiss to his lips. "I love you, Sev. Thanks for today…"

"Let's go home, love, and you can start thanking me for tonight."

* * *

A/N: Would you like to see Hermione with a love interest? Any thoughts as to who?


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own any HP intellectual property; I just use it for my own non-financially beneficial fun.

A/N: Thanks for being patient between updates. I know that I will eventually get used to being back at work after a lovely summer away, but 5:30AM still doesn't feel pretty. I would love to hear from you guys, my loyal readers! I'm pretty proud of this chapter actually and I love to hear your thoughts. OK…on with the lovin'.

* * *

Palm to palm, fingers threaded together, Severus could feel every spark of pleasure center around their interlocked hands. Severus' mouth worshipped his beautiful, naked lover, who writhed underneath him in concentrated pleasure. It was as if their bed was a new world and nothing else existed beyond the feeling the two men found in each other's embrace. Their joined hands, now pressed against the headboard above Harry's head, were stopping Harry from gripping the sheets as he usually did when he lost control in bed, but Severus could feel him holding on for dear life; putting all of his passion and love into their simple act of connection and love.

Severus felt the emotion bleeding from his soul. The man beneath him was all he ever wanted; all he could ever need. His dark, shimmering ebony eyes locked onto the indescribably beautiful emerald pools; nothing needed to be said as he slid into Harry gently and began to move inside his love. Neither man wanted to break the connection that they had established; despite the urge to move faster or change position to reach deeper inside of Harry.

Tears welled up in Harry's eyes, though he felt nothing but love and pleasure. At this moment, both of the men moving together were able to understand the full meaning of _soul mates_. Harry knew that this feeling of indescribable love, passion, and completeness could never be found with another. Severus prayed silently to a forgotten god thanking the fates for blessing him with this love, this family – his son and husband. Severus was too enthralled in Harry's quiet mutterings and gasps of gratification to realize the presumptuous thoughts that ran through his unfiltered brain.

Harry saw the look of awe on his lover and felt powerful and insanely loved. His pleasure soared in response to the steady rhythm and deep emotion that the two men shared. His free hand caressed the strong, pale face above him and brought Severus' lips to his own. A dam broke inside of Harry when their lips met and he screamed his orgasm into the needy, possessive mouth of his lover. The orgasmic contractions inside of Harry pushed Severus over the edge though he continued to move as he filled Harry with his seed. It took both men longer than usual to regain any remnants of composure. They looked at each other through watery, emotion-filled eyes, and just knew that the other had also felt the power course between them.

Harry stroked the back of the normally stoic Potions Master, who lay collapsed on top of him quietly enjoying the attention and love that was being bestowed upon him. The trust that it took Severus to lie with Harry like this, open and unguarded, was not lost on the younger man. His lover had given over everything of himself to Harry as they came together in their passion. It was unlike any of their previous sessions of lovemaking: not the energetic, incredibly erotic times, nor the sweet, emotional ones, and not even the powerful, possessive explosions of raw passion. Tonight their very souls connected and reaffirmed their bond.

Harry ran his fingers through Severus' long, sleek mane of hair, and kissed his forehead lovingly. "I love you more every day," he whispered into his nearly sleeping lover's ear.

"Same here. Feeling that connected to you used to scare me. Tonight reminded me of that first time you stayed the entire night with me last summer. Remember?"

Harry chuckled, "You mean the night we conceived Evan?"

"That night was when you got pregnant with Evan? How do you know?" Severus looked astounded at Harry's revelation.

"That was roughly around the time that the healer thinks Evan was conceived and it was that night of the skirmish in Diagon Alley. The next day you were sent off to Durmstrang with Draco for a couple of days. It had to be that night."

"Do you think…?" Severus looked a mix of bewilderment and elation.

"That we just conceived again?"

"How would you feel if we had, Sev?"

The post-coital sleepiness seemed to have left Severus' eyes and Harry could see the cogs churning in the older man's brain.

"I will welcome any more children you want to give birth to, love. Evan is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and I think I am an adequate father…"

"You are more than _adequate, _Sev. You are a phenomenal father. Evan isn't even six months old yet and he already hangs on your every word."

"I hope I can continue to show you both my love for you and provide Evan with the attention and security that neither of us was allowed. I regret that I wasn't there for you two until recently, but our family feels like the most natural place in the world to me. For the first time in my life, I honestly feel fulfilled and needed for more than just the information I can give." Severus lost himself in thought as he shared his heart with Harry. "I know that this isn't exactly the role that the world envisions _Severus Snape_ of having, but I enjoy being Evan's papa…and I enjoy being yours."

Harry smiled lovingly at the man sprawled on his chest and kissed him solidly on his lips. "We both love having you as _ours_, Sev. As for another baby, we will just have to wait and see. I didn't use a contraceptive charm tonight, but that doesn't mean anything necessarily. It takes a lot for men to get pregnant usually. Despite our rather unique connection, I still don't really think it would be that easy for us to conceive."

Severus smirked at Harry good-naturedly. "Knowing your penchant for achieving the impossible, we are likely to get pregnant each and every time we have unprotected sex. Since I always blow your mind and make you forget the contraceptive charm, we will likely have an entire quidditch team before we learn our lesson."

Harry chuckled at the image of Snape wrangling six or seven screaming black-haired children. "God forbid, love."

Severus took Harry's retort to heart briefly, as he feared that Harry did not share the same vision that he did about possibly adding several more children to their brood. He asked tentatively, "What do _you_ think about having more children?"

The young professor took a moment to gather his thoughts before he began his response. "I love the idea of having more children with you. We clearly make beautiful, powerful babies, but…"

Severus swallowed hard when he heard Harry's _but…_

"I think I would ideally like to wait until we are married and maybe Evan is a little older. At least until I manage to forget how painful labor was. And…I like having this alone time with the three of us right now and I want to be more established in my career before I get pregnant again. It is my intention to wait a bit before we have another baby. I'm only 19 and, even by wizarding standards, there is no rush to fill our house with more babies right away. But…if it happens, it happens."

"We should probably be a little more careful with our contraceptive charms then. You do tend to defy the odds, love."

Harry admitted to himself that they should be more cautious if they were not actively seeking to add another member to their family. Most gay men never had to think about contraception as it was nearly impossible to conceive without the aid of potions, but Harry knew that he and Severus were different. If they weren't careful, it wasn't unlikely that they would end up with their own quidditch team, as Sev predicted. "I agree, but don't think that means I don't want to give you more babies. I loved being pregnant with Evan and I can't wait to share my pregnancy of the next one with you."

The image of Harry's swollen abdomen and beautiful glow flipped into Severus' mind and he couldn't help but well up with emotion at the vision. "I can't wait for that either, love."

_

* * *

__**Flashback**_

Harry sat on an examination bed in the hospital wing waiting for Madam Pomfrey to deal with the more critically injured fighters and heal his relatively minor wounds. A couple gashes to his neck and shoulder were deep, but he would feel like new as soon as her talented wand spoke the needed incantations to clean and close the wound. Fred and George had sounded the alarm in Diagon Alley in the late afternoon and the Order members arrived on the busy street to find a dozen death eaters attempting to infiltrate Gringotts. The Order members clearly outnumbered the death eaters, but with the dark and lethal methods that the death eaters were willing to use, it was still a dangerous battle. Harry had to force Severus and Dumbledore to let him fight. Dumbledore wanted to keep Harry protected until he could fight Voldemort, and Severus because he was becoming increasingly protective of his former student. Severus could not win their argument about why Harry shouldn't fight, since they both knew that he was physically and mentally ready. Severus withheld the real reason for his hesitance at seeing his young lover enter into the violence that surrounded them. Their relationship was full of passion and comradeship, but it was still tentative and Severus was not ready to expose the extent of his feelings for the Gryffindor. Instead, he agreed that Harry could respond to the call with the Order, but his eyes barely lost sight of Harry during the altercation. He would protect Harry if it was the last thing he did.

Much of the death eaters receded when they saw the extent of the Order response to their attempt at Gringotts, but several of the more hardcore followers saw it as a time to engage in bitter words and murderous attempts. Both Severus and Harry dodged countless rather unpleasant hexes sent their way. Severus because he had recently been discovered to be a spy by Voldemort, and Harry because he was well…Harry. Severus continually deflected curses from Avery, until he saw Harry fighting admirably with Lucius out of the corner of his eye. Lucius Malfoy was one of the strongest duelers that Severus had encountered as a death eater, and he was pleased to see that Harry was gaining on him and forcing Malfoy to step back and respond defensively. Harry's cutting hex slipped through Lucius' shield and noticeably injured the aristocratic Slytherin before he disapperated away from the fight with a scowl of hatred towards Harry. Severus looked around and saw that most of the other death eaters were restrained or had fled from the battle. Avery approached the tall Potions Master ominously, but Severus responded quickly and took Avery down with a powerful and painful looking stunner. He threw a portkey on Avery's body that sent him directly to a Ministry cell. When he looked back toward where Harry had been fighting Malfoy, he was gone. The agitated man looked around at the remnants of the fight, several injured Order members and aurors, a dead death eater and several restrained, but no Harry. Feeling the panic swell in his chest, Severus pulled the chain on his neck and felt the tug on his naval that indicated the portkey was bringing him to the Hogwarts infirmary.

***

Arriving in the entry of the infirmary, Severus gave in slightly to the panic that was bubbling up to the surface. His eyes scanned the room and he questioned Bill, who looked to be in charge of accounting for all of the Order.

"Where is he, Weasley?"

"Who exactly?"

"Potter."

"He's waiting for Pomfrey in the back room. We didn't have a bed for him out here."

His stomach dropped out from under him as Severus took in the fact that his lover was hurt. Not caring what anyone thought of his uncharacteristic concern for the Boy Who Lived, Severus ran towards the back of the hospital wing in search of Harry. It was less than a minute before Severus found the bleeding, but largely uninjured Gryffindor, though Severus had already run through hundreds of torture techniques to use on Lucius Malfoy for hurting Harry.

Harry was holding a cotton towel towards a lightly bleeding cut on his neck, but smiled brightly at Severus when he saw him run into the room.

"Sev…you're ok?"

"Yes, though your disappearing act did take several years off of my life, Potter."

Harry warmed at the thought that the normally cold, hard Potions Master was worried for him. "Sorry, Remus pulled my portkey after he told me that the rest of the death eaters had fled. He told me that I didn't need to be there for the boring Ministry report writing and I should stop bleeding all over Diagon. I would have found you, but he didn't leave me much choice."

Looking towards the empty corridor outside of Harry's room to ensure that no one was nearby, Severus leaned into the young, green-eyed man and bestowed a kiss that was far from chaste on his lips. Surprised, but unable to hold back his grin, Harry pulled the taller man into his embrace and felt assured by the weight of his body. "I was worried about you out there, Sev. You can't let anything happen to you. I don't think I would be able to handle it."

Resting his forehead against Harry's, Severus kissed his lips again lightly. "Nothing is going to hurt me, unless you let your guard down. You protecting yourself will protect me. You know how to fight, Harry. You can't let me or anyone else distract you. That is how you get hurt. I need you to keep yourself safe, love."

"Can I come back to your quarters after I get these cuts healed? I need you tonight. I need to feel you."

Without even taking out his wand, Severus rested his palm lightly over the scabbing over cuts along Harry's right shoulder and neck. Without any spoken words, the cuts disappeared along with any discomfort Harry had been feeling. Severus looked into Harry's eyes and knew that the younger man could see the hard stare of desire looking back at him. "Let's go."

Both men walked out of the infirmary without even an explanation of where they were going. The members of the Order who had been around that summer were used to their Chosen One and the acerbic Potions Master often spending time together secretly. Most assumed that Harry was being prepared tactically or learning various defense strategies, but tonight anyone who paid enough attention to the two retreating men could see passion and need swimming in their eyes. It was what Albus Dumbledore saw as they blew past him in the doorway of the infirmary. _Be strong, my boys. This battle will only get worse and you need something to ground yourself to. _

***

As soon as the two battle-weary men walked through the door of Severus' quarters, Harry's robes were being forcefully removed from his body. Harry couldn't take his eyes off of Severus, who looked singularly focused upon getting access to Harry's bare skin.

"I need to feel you. I need to feel your breath on me. To know that you are alright." The Slytherin was aware that he was exposing more of his emotion towards Harry than he normally allowed, but he couldn't restrain the feelings that were coursing through his veins. Severus' chest ached. It felt like his very heart was yearning for Harry, and there was no way that his heart was going to stay locked away with these emotions running through him.

Harry was pulling Severus towards the bedroom and removing whatever pieces of clothing he could get his hands on. By the time they reached Severus' large four-poster bed, both men were naked, hard, and unable to keep their hands off of the other. Severus brought their lips together and kissed the Gryffindor like a man possessed. As his mouth sought ownership of Harry's lips, Severus ran his large, potion stained fingers through Harry's messy raven hair and heard deep, full-body groans of pleasure coming from his lover. Severus continued to kiss Harry as if he was trying to drink in his very essence; their tongues danced together and caused sparks to shoot throughout their bodies. Severus knew at that moment that he had never felt anything like having Harry in his arms. _I'm in trouble…_

Though his own emotions were out of control and veering into an unfamiliar direction, Severus could not hold back what was pulsing through his veins. His heart screamed out for Harry. Harry was his air and it was all Severus needed to sustain him.

Severus let his kisses trail down Harry's neck and latch upon a pulse point that always drove Harry wild. They had spent many passionate moments together over the last several weeks; most of them coming together madly in the Room of Requirements or on Severus' sofa. This was the first time that the older man had allowed Harry to come to his bed. Severus knew that welcoming Harry into his most private sphere spoke to the level of trust and comfort they had established. It told Harry that Severus was acknowledging that they were in a relationship, not simply a series of explosive moments of sexual need.

Severus kissed and nipped along Harry's muscular body, stopping to devote particular attention to the areas that he knew caused him to moan the loudest. His tongue spent many minutes circling Harry's hipbone and biting along his thighs before taking the younger man's swollen cock into his mouth. Harry was well-endowed and barely fit into his mouth, but Severus loved the feeling of fullness that taking Harry inside of his body caused. Harry was mumbling gibberish as his cock was worshipped by Severus' any spoken words, Harry pulled Severus from his erection and looked into his dark eyes.

"Show me what I mean to you. Make love to me, baby."

Those very words terrified and inspired the Potions Master. He refused to allow Harry to break eye contact as he prepared his lover for intercourse. Both men were on their sides, their chests nearly touching, and their hands sending sparks along the other's body. Harry had his left leg flung over his lover's hip as he was being prepared gently to be entered. Harry bit his lip as he felt Severus slide into him in the unaccustomed position that caused his body to feel even tighter than usual. It took only seconds before Harry lost his head to the delicious pleasure of being filled by the man who had stolen his heart. _You are my world, Sev. I love you. Forever._

Before Harry, Severus had only occasional lovers. Nothing serious or romantic, nothing like what Harry did to him. Harry made him yearn to be a better man; ache to deserve him. _I would do anything for you, Harry. I would give you the moon if you asked for it. I will never stop loving you._

Their thoughts of love and commitment were left unspoken, as the noises of their lovemaking filled the room. Harry's moans of pleasure as Severus lifted Harry's leg further up onto his own chest nearly undid the Slytherin. Their mouths came together repeatedly to bestow mind-altering kisses, but more so their eyes spoke to each other. Their eyes shared an understanding of commitment, passion, and love that they both were too afraid to verbalize. The connection between the deep emerald and swirling ebony eyes was what sent both men over the edge. Severus saw a single tear slide down Harry's cheek as they came together. Severus refused to withdraw himself from Harry; not wanting to break the delicious feeling that their coupling brought to him. "Are you alright, love?"

"More than alright. I'm incredible." Harry was attempting to win the war of emotions that he knew were playing out on his face. "That was just intense. You felt that, right?"

Severus kissed Harry sweetly on his bruised, red lips, "Yeah, I absolutely felt that."

Neither men were ready to speak words to what _that _was, but both felt it coursing through their veins.

"I should probably head back to my room, Sev. There's a good chance that Ron or Hermione are trying to track me down to hear about the battle." Harry didn't want to feel his lover slide out of him; he didn't want to feel the loss.

"Stay with me tonight."

"Seriously? I thought we were supposed to avoid people finding out about us. If I start not sleeping in my rooms, there is a good chance that someone is going to pick up on that."

"I don't care. Let them find out. I refuse to let you go tonight. I plan to sleep in this exact position."

Harry laughed at the stubborn man still pulsating gently inside of him. "I don't know how I would sleep if your cock remains where it is currently. I believe that would be distracting."

"Perhaps. So, you'll stay?"

"Yeah, fuck it. This is where I want to be."

Eventually, despite his refusal to move a muscle, Severus slid out of the man who so clearly had won his heart. Harry, brilliantly happy and ready for sleep, turned himself around in bed and spooned himself back into Severus' longer body. Taking the older man's arm and securing it around his chest, Harry felt the sense of belonging permeate his every breath. Though neither man had ever woken in bed with another before, they both fell asleep comfortable in the ease of their intimacy and looking forward to what morning would bring. _This is where I want to be._


	17. Chapter 17

As always, I don't hold the rights to any of JKR's fabulous characters. She is a genius that I could only wish to be!

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I hope to have more soon!

* * *

The sun was setting on Samhain, a crisp, clear Tuesday evening, and Harry felt the heaviness of the date choking him as he walked around the grounds. Harry's long, wavy black hair blew in the light wind and he looked out onto the lakefront that reflected the descending sun. Every year Harry spent October 31st quietly hiding away from those closest to him, but this year was a bit more intense. Thoughts of Evan were running through his head, his heart full of love but also feeling the deep ache of each and every crack to its surface.

"I thought I would find you out here."

Harry turned his head slightly to catch the sight of his lover descending the path from the castle. Instead of the usual bright smile in greeting, Severus saw long-carried pain in Harry's eyes. He immediately stepped behind the smaller man and put his arms around his tense body, letting Harry rest his weight on his steady frame. It took Harry several minutes to relax into Severus' embrace and rely that his voice would not betray the meaning of the day.

"Where's the baby?"

"I thought that some time with Grandma Minnie would be appropriate. I know today is a tough day for you, love."

"I didn't know if you would remember. No one else ever mentions it, so I usually don't bring it up."

"Not remember? I saw you sitting in my classroom for seven years with dark circles under your eyes every November 1st. I knew that your peers may have overindulged on Halloween night, but I never doubted why your eyes were red and unfocused." The Potions Master carefully chose his words as he looked into the shining eyes of his young lover. "Harry, Samhain marks the anniversary of the death of one of my best friends. A death that I feel weighs on me every day. A death that took away years of happiness from the man I love. There is nothing about the anniversary of your parents' death that I could forget."

Harry allowed the silence to sit between them undisturbed for several minutes before daring to speak again. "It feels different this year."

"Different?"

"It took having Evan…of really having something that I would protect with my every breath…to understand the meaning behind their death. Albus always waxed poetically about how my mum's love saved me and, honestly, I usually just rolled my eyes and gagged a bit. It wasn't until we had Evan…"

"It wasn't until we had Evan that you understood what your mother's sacrifice meant to _her._"

Harry nodded. "I only have memories of my parents from the stories that other people told me. It was easy to see them as some sort of heroic fairy tale. I've been walking around the grounds for the last couple of hours just finally…getting it. This is what they wanted…to protect me and make sure that I had a chance to grow up and be happy."

Severus pulled the young professor further into his warmth and pressed a soft kiss to an exposed stretch of skin on Harry's neck. He smelled of sunshine, cinnamon, and that unique spice that only could be defined as _Harry_. He smelled it on their sheets, on his own favorite old jumper that Harry liked to slip on when their quarters got chilly, or when he snuggled himself into the warmth of their son. It was a smell that permeated his entire world.

"What do you think they would think of this? Our being together right now, honoring them in our own way."

Harry bit his lip to hold back the rumble of laughter in his gut. "Well, my Dad would probably hex you for touching his son, but mum would be happy. She would probably have a deep understanding of why the two of us fit together so well, despite the age difference and our past turbulence. She is probably looking down on us right now and smiling, because what she fought to protect is safe and truly, truly happy."

Without a moment's hesitation, Severus responded. "Marry me?"

Harry felt his chest swell and tears rush to the corners of his sparkling emerald eyes. "You do pick your moments, Sev."

Turning Harry to face him, but never breaking their embrace, Severus placed a simple, sweet kiss to his intended's lips.

"You are everything I could ever want, Harry. You know that. I want you and Evan and any other children we have to be my family in more than just words. Let's make a new memory for Samhain. A memory that honors what your parents wanted for you; one that holds to what Samhain is supposed to be – a celebration of those we have lost. Be my husband?"

The melancholy that had been suffocating Harry all day released from his chest and the Gryffindor could not help but bestow a full-toothed smile up at Severus.

"You know I am not pregnant, right? There is no need for any sort of shotgun wedding."

"Shotgun wedding?"

"Oh, yes. Muggle term. I guess in our situation it is more wand point. Say perhaps I got pregnant again out of wedlock. Molly would then be pushing you down the aisle at wand point to assure that you did not ruin my reputation."

"It's a little late for the wedding at wand point, don't you think? Besides, your reputation is pretty much unsalvageable. I am aware that you are not carrying another heir to the Snape fortune, but that doesn't change my question. Marry me?"

"Where's my ring?"

"You need to say yes first, and then we will worry about a ring. Are you always so concerned about such ridiculously trivial things?"

"I am quite the catch, I will have you know, Professor. What do you plan on bestowing upon my loved ones in the way of a dowry?" Harry was biting his cheek to hold back his smirk.

The Potions Master chuckled at the ability of his lover to find the joy and playfulness in even the most serious of moments.

"Quite the catch? Please note that I have been getting the milk for free for quite some time now, Potter. I could leave you a dried up harlot, but I am offering to be saddled with the likes of you for _life_. Perhaps I am the one who should be offered some sort of payment for my sacrifice."

"The milk for free? If you continue to talk like that, you won't be getting much of anything," Harry responded mischievously.

Even Harry's inability to stop running his mouth was endearing to the older man. Severus cupped Harry's face with his long, elegant fingers and claimed his mouth. It took several minutes until both men were able to steady their breathing again and return to their conversation.

Their faces only inches apart, Severus looked deep into Harry's beautiful green eyes and repeated his question. "Marry me?"

Harry's face lit up again at the question. "Yes, of course I will marry you."

The rising moon reflected across the Black Lake and caused a singular shadow to spread across the sand. The two men were one in the darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't make any money off of the fun I have with JKR's characters. She is the genius who owns them all! Also, as my stories do contain fairly graphic sex, please do not read it unless you are 18 and legally allowed to access this where you live!

* * *

Hermione was unable to keep the smirk off of her face as her best friend recounted how his normally romantically challenged boyfriend finally popped the question. It really was too cute and she knew that if it got back to Severus that she thought his actions were in fact _cute_, he would likely be mortified or potentially homicidal at her for having such ideas running through her head. Harry looked to be on cloud nine and had been practically bouncing around his living room since she had arrived for lunch a half hour earlier. As Harry threw his two year old godson in the air and made the blue-haired metamorph squeal with laughter, he retold how he came to be engaged to the acerbic Potions Master.

"Did you guys chose when you want to have your ceremony?"

Harry put Teddy on the ground next to Evan who had been giggling and clapping along with his god brother. His smile was as wide as the kids.

"We haven't set a date, but we think between Christmas and New Years. We want to do it soon and we have a couple of weeks off then, so it is probably the best time to do it. I just can't wait to say he is my husband, Mione."

Hermione felt joy bubble up in her chest for Harry. He deserved to feel this happy. Hermione launched herself at the handsome young professor and wrapped her arms around him. "I am so happy for you guys, Harry."

Harry didn't want to let go of his best friend. She was the rock in his life that had allowed him to get to this point. He could feel himself hugging her a little tighter than necessary, trying to make her realize how much he appreciated her in his life.

"You'll stand up for me, right?" Harry asked as he pulled away from the curly-haired witch.

"Of course! Are you guys going to try to go on a honeymoon? I can watch Evan if you want. You should go away for a few days, Har. Maybe get started on making me an auntie again."

"God, not you too. Severus is already angling for another baby. I can just hear it in his voice. Soon, but not yet. I'm not ready to be pregnant again, as wonderful as it was to feel Evan growing inside of me. He is only 7 months old. I think it is smart to put a little more time between him and our next one. I'm only 19!"

Hermione stuck her bottom lip out to pout. "But Harry…Evan is such a good baby! I want you to give me more babies to spoil!"

Harry gave her a big grin. "We'll see. I want more babies too, and I know that Severus wants to keep me barefoot and pregnant for as long as I would agree. Let's get through the wedding first and then Sev and I will talk about it again. I told him I wanted to wait a couple more years, but even I don't think we will last that long."

"Good. You two are amazing parents and I know that the next baby will be as loved as Evan. Severus really surprised me how much he has taken to being a dad. I never would have expected it."

Nodding emphatically, Harry agreed. "He is an incredible father. He is just a strong, solid source of love for Ev. It is funny, I thought I would be the one who Evan went to with a skinned knee or his first heartbreak, but I already know it will be Sev. If Evan is having trouble sleeping or not feeling well, only Severus' calm, steady voice can get him to sleep. I don't know how I thought I could have raised him by myself. Nothing felt complete until Severus came back into our lives."

Hermione put her arm around Harry's shoulders and provided her own form of support. "This is how it was supposed to be. You both would not have come to realize the extent of your relationship if you hadn't had the time apart. Though it was painful and caused for Severus to miss out on one of the most important events in either of your lives, it brought you to where you are now. Madly in love, raising your son, planning your future."

Before Harry could give her a reply, his excitable godson launched himself enthusiastically toward his middle. "Up Unca 'arry, Up!"

Harry lifted the amber eyed little boy onto his hip. "You want to fly, little man?"

"FLY!!!"

Harry looked at his son clapping from his mat on the floor, his godson's huge smile, and his best friend standing supportively next to him, and he couldn't feel anything but joy. Harry tossed Teddy up into the air and caught up with kisses and tickles that led to laughter all around.

***

Standing stiffly at the door of the crooked, multi-leveled house, willing himself to find the nerve to knock, Severus Snape readjusted his robes and ran his fingers through his shoulder-length black hair. He had told Harry that he needed to run some errands, but didn't specify exactly what he was doing on his Saturday morning excursion. Not knowing where the sudden attack of nerves was coming from, Severus started to pace and come up with words for what he wanted to say to the couple inside of the walls.

Before he had even formulated his first sentence, the wooden door swung upon to reveal Molly Weasley dressed in her housecoat holding a well-used broom.

"Is there a reason why you are pacing outside of my front door, Severus? You usually are not a man to be intimidated by as simple of a gesture as knocking."

"Molly, yes, I am sorry to be rude. I was just trying to gather my thoughts. I wanted to speak with you and Arthur, if it is not an inconvenience."

Thinking that she knew why the head of Slytherin was loitering outside of her family home on a Saturday morning, Molly held back commenting on the small pang of disapproval she still felt at the sight of the Potions Master.

"Well, Arthur went with Ginny to a quidditch match, but you are welcome to come in and have a cup of tea with me, Severus."

Unable to figure out if dealing with Molly alone should make him feel more at ease or scared for his life, Severus nodded and followed her into the cluttered kitchen. Without even being asked how he takes his tea, Severus was handed a steamy cup and was pleasantly surprised upon tasting it that it was made perfectly.

"Thank you, Molly. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to speak with me."

"Of course. Have a seat and tell me what has you away from Hogwarts in the middle of the semester, Severus."

Sliding his long body onto the bench at the family table, Severus took another sip of his tea to give him a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Actually, I am here because I wanted you to hear from me that I have asked Harry to marry me. You are the closest thing he has to parents, and I wanted to come here personally to ask for your blessing. We have not always seen eye-to-eye in the Order or when it comes to my relationship with Harry, but I know how much your approval means to him."

Severus intended to stop there, but Molly's blank stare made Severus feel like he needed to provide more supporting facts to back up his request.

"I love Harry and Evan, as I think you probably know by now. We want to continue to build a life together and possibly have more children. It is traditional and my own personal belief that legalizing our relationship through marriage is the best for our family."

Molly nodded, but still held herself back from speaking.

Severus bit the inside of his cheek in frustration and realized that he would have to tread further into the uncomfortable area of his emotions to get any form of acceptance from this woman.

"I can't imagine living my life without Harry by my side. We may have had a rather unconventional courtship, but I have never doubted my absolute love of him and commitment to our family. I will take care of our family to the best of my ability. It may surprise you and most of the readers of the Daily Prophet, but I know that I make him happy. I make both of them happy. I will strive with every fiber of my being to make sure that our children grow up unquestionably loved and supported. We plan on providing them with the childhood that neither Harry nor I had. I will do everything in my power to ensure that this and every other dream Harry has will come true."

Molly cleared her throat and considered her words carefully. Though she was enjoying watching the reserved man out of his comfort zone, she did think it was time to stop his rambling.

"I am aware that you love Harry and my grandbaby, and while I may not think that you were the most appropriate person for Harry to have an affair with as a teenager, I can now see how happy you make him. Truthfully, I have never seen him happier. When you walk into a room, Harry's eyes light up. It was a light in his eyes that I thought he had lost with Sirius."

Molly locked eyes with Severus momentarily and saw that he understood.

"Before I lost my boys, I can honestly say that the worst day of my life was the day I saw Harry after Sirius died. Every last ounce of innocence and joy left him that night. He tried to pretend around the other children or the Headmaster, but Sirius' death ended Harry's childhood and replaced his joy with the cold, bitter resolve of a soldier. I went to bed that night after looking into that little boy's eyes and I couldn't hold back the tears. No child should have had to go through what Harry endured."

Severus nodded and felt relief that someone else had noticed the pain that had surrounded Harry for so long during the war.

"After he graduated, I started to notice the spark come back into his eyes again, despite what he was preparing for. I finally saw a smile grace Harry's beautiful face that didn't look like it took considerable effort to maintain. I now assume that change in Harry was because of his relationship with you. For that, I thank you."

Severus felt more emotion than would ever be acceptable for him rise to the surface. "There is no need for gratitude, Molly. Both Harry and I were only living half lives until we found each other. We had let war and death take over and neither of us expected to survive the final confrontation. We were both dealing with our own inner demons and feelings of hopelessness, but somehow we found the hope and happiness we needed in each other's arms. I was surprised by how quickly and thoroughly he wormed his way into my heart. I was so closed off to the possibility of love or potentially having a family, but Harry changed all of that. I am only complete when he is by my side."

Molly joy radiate through her body and her eyes shone as they looked at the tall, raven-haired professor. "I know that I can speak for Arthur when I say welcome to the family, Severus. Take care of our boy." Molly leaned forward and cupped Severus' face and placed a maternal kiss to his cheek.

"Always."

***

Severus walked into a loud, laughter filled living room upon his return from the Burrow. Evan was sitting up on his own and swaying side to side with a drool-covered smile on his face. Harry had his back turned to the door and was tossing his blue-eyed godson in the air. Giggles from both children and Harry himself were sweet music to Severus' ears, especially after his emotionally charged conversation at the Burrow. Severus leaned against the kitchen counter and watched the scene before him silently for some time. Harry looked to finally by tiring from the exertion of lifting a two-year old over his head repeatedly and he threw the metamorph onto the couch gently and began to tickle him relentlessly.

"No…no…Unca. Not tickles." Despite Teddy's plea, it was clear that the attention from his godfather was only making him laugh harder.

Seeking to alert his family of his arrival home, Severus picked up his son and tossed him onto the couch for a thorough tickling as well. "I see that we have some silly boys here today, Harry. I think that I must have missed out on some fun."

Evan's baby giggles made both men smile at each other and switch their targets to each attack a new boy with renewed vigor.

"Unca Sev…hehe…dat tickles!"

Picking up the blue-haired boy, Severus gave him a warm squeeze. "OK…little cub. I will let you run again, if you promise to give me your eyeballs for my potions!"

"Noooooo! Not my eyes, Unca! I don't want to be in a po-tin."

"Not in one of my potions, Theodore? Well then what are you here for?"

Teddy let out a loud bubble of laughter. "Unca, I here to play with you and Unca 'arry and Evy and Auntie 'ermioneee."

Severus kissed Teddy's forehead, always so amazed how much he looked like Lupin, other than the shockingly bright, and constantly changing, colors of his hair. "Have you been playing, cub? What has Uncle Harry been up to this morning?"

Teddy threw his arms above his head and screamed louder than Severus thought would ever be necessary. "We FLYED!"

"You flew, Theodore? Do you like to fly fast through the air like your uncle? If I can remember correctly, your mama was quite a talented flyer in her day as well."

"Mama fast?" Teddy looked happily at Severus at the thought of the parent he only knew from stories.

"Yes, your mama was very fast and loved to fly, just like you. How about we fly you into your room, my little quidditch star, and take a nap?"

Teddy stuck out his bottom lip dramatically. "Evy too?"

Harry grinned at the interaction between his godson and fiancé. It had only taken a few visits before Teddy felt as comfortable with 'Uncle Sev' as he felt with him, despite Severus' constant threats to use him for potions ingredients. "Yes, Evan will be resting as well. None of that pouting, son."

The two men changed and warded the boys into their own rooms, and met each other again in the living room. Harry wrapped his arms around the tall, handsome man that he had missed during his morning errands.

"Missed you, Sev."

"I may have missed your presence this morning as well, brat. I see that you have been spending time with two young men around your same maturity level."

"Hey…Hermione was here as well. She needed all of the details on our engagement."

"Where is she now? I could probably use some intellectually stimulating conversation this afternoon."

"Hermione is having tea with Minerva and then heading back to the Burrow. Are you saying that my conversation skills are not intellectually stimulating?"

"You are just stimulating in a different way, love."

"I resent that."

Severus pulled Harry even closer to his body. "Can I make you forgive me? We seem to have two sleeping boys and a couple of free hours on our hands."

"You will have to work very hard to get back into my good graces, love. I'm talking multiple orgasms and possibly a run to Honeydukes afterwards."

Severus didn't use words to answer Harry's request, but instead pulled him into their bedroom and threw Harry down on their large four-poster bed, much like how the boys had been tossed on the couch only minutes earlier.

"Professor Snape, I see that you are being rough with me this afternoon. Whatever got you in this mood?"

Severus stared deep into Harry's eyes and issued an evil laugh as he began to unbutton his shirt. "I will have you know that I spent most of my morning having tea with one Molly Weasley to be assured that we would have her and Arthur's blessing at our impending nuptials. Needless to say, despite her unexpected blessing and support for us, I have a little tension that I might need to work out."

Harry warmed at the thought of what Severus had put himself through this morning. "You did that for me? I love you, you know."

Pulling off his tailored shirt to reveal his toned abs and muscled arms, Severus looked at Harry with a burning desire in his eyes. "I would do _anything_ for you."

Harry sat up on their bed and pulled Severus toward him by his belt buckle. "Then fuck me."

Without needing a second request, Severus plundered Harry's mouth with a brutal, passionate kiss. As they broke for air, Severus brought his mouth to Harry's throat and chest and licked and bit any skin that he came into contact with. Moans began to fill the room and clothes were ripped off and tossed aside. Severus had tunnel vision as the noises Harry was making got louder and louder. It was all he could do to mutter a stretching and lubricating charm while flipping Harry onto his hands and knees.

Severus was aching and his lover's panting indicated that he was feeling particularly needy for contact as well. Refusing to be gentle, Severus slid into Harry to the hilt and heard a guttural groan from the indescribably sexy man beneath him.

Severus didn't wait for Harry to beg for it any further. Instead he started pounding into Harry forcefully and was rewarded by Harry's incoherent sounds of pleasure. "Is this what you want? For me to come home every night and fuck you into the mattress? You are such a slut."

Severus knew his lover and every dirty word was making Harry's cock throb just as much as from the pounding of his prostate. "Only whores beg to be fucked like this. Are you my whore?"

Harry moaned from deep within his chest. "I'm your whore, Sev. Keep fucking me like that. I don't think even you can fuck me how hard I want it. Make me scream, baby."

Severus smacked Harry's ass loudly and sped up the movement of his hips. Harry's moaning turned into the sibilant sounds of parseltongue. "Fasssster Ssssssev…."

The sounds escaping from Harry's lips were going to undo Severus at any minute. He could feel Harry's tight passage pulsating around his own cock and knew that they both only had a couple of thrusts more before they succumbed to the pleasure that never eluded them when together.

Together, not even seconds apart, the two men orgasmed spectacularly. Harry face down into the pillow muttering in jumbled English and parseltongue, and Severus biting into the back of Harry's shoulder.

It took the couple until they heard the first of the boys start to wake up from their nap to come down from their euphoria. Severus removed himself from their entangled limbs and put his clothes back on to go and rescue Teddy from his room.

"I love you." The Potions Master expressed as he placed a kiss onto his dazed fiance's lips.

Harry's smile was radiating across the room as he watched his lover leave the room.

"I love Saturdays."

***

A/N: I just wanted to thank my readers for being so great. Over 200 reviews! Amazing! I read each and every one. I also respond to all of the personal messages I get about the story. I would love to hear from you!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: These characters (except Evan) are all property of JKR. I wish I was such a genius and fabulously rich, but no such luck.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, my dears! I am trying to find the time and energy to write around real life. I won't drop it, I'm just slow! Please let me know your thoughts though! That really motivates me!

_**Last Chapter**_

_Together, not even seconds apart, the two men orgasmed spectacularly. Harry face down into the pillow muttering in jumbled English and parseltongue, and Severus biting into the back of Harry's shoulder._

_It took the couple until they heard the first of the boys start to wake up from their nap to come down from their euphoria. Severus removed himself from their entangled limbs and put his clothes back on to go and rescue Teddy from his room._

"_I love you." The Potions Master expressed as he placed a kiss onto his dazed fiancé's lips._

_Harry's smile was radiating across the room as he watched his lover leave the room._

"_I love Saturdays."_

_***_

The month of December dawned and wedding preparations were well underway for an intimate New Years Eve ceremony on Hogwarts grounds. Harry and Severus had debated waiting until the summer to have a bigger celebration, but agreed that they didn't need a spectacle to cement their commitment. Harry obviously planned on having Hermione stand beside him as a witness on his wedding day, but Severus was waiting to hear from him godson. Though he hadn't said anything directly, Harry could see the worry in Severus' eyes when he thought of Draco. It had been nearly a year since he had laid eyes on the blond Slytherin and Severus didn't like that Draco still was undercover as a spy within Voldemort's ranks.

Several days before the students were going home for the holidays, Harry sat in the great hall next to his intended and their son. He had to be admit that the two weeks off for Christmas and New Year's was something that he was looking forward to, and not only because of their impeding nuptials. Harry's first few months as a teacher were enjoyable, but tiring. It took a lot of energy to put up with dozens of adolescents each day, though for the most part they were all eager to learn and growing into competent witches and wizards. Most of the students gave him the respect he deserved as a professor, if not more than Harry thought was necessary. Little had changed with the select group of Slytherin 7th years who gave him nasty looks and whispered pointedly, but Harry expected that it was only David Dolohov who was potentially more than talk. Even that mini Death Eater didn't seem to dare cross his head of house.

Looking out onto the house tables from his seat at the head table made Harry think back to his own place in their ranks only two years before. It made him almost chuckle to think how much had changed in the time since his graduation. Before Harry could get too far into thought or make much headway on his shepherd's pie, he noticed the heavy double doors open into the great hall and a familiar head of shaggy red hair stride into the room with a swagger that oozed natural confidence. Harry bit the insides of his cheeks to stop his lips from turning upward more than necessary. _Charlie. _

Harry locked eyes with the second oldest Weasley son from across the great hall and saw a broad grin spread across Charlie's face. The dragon tamer leaned along the back wall, staring back at Harry with a knowing smirk, and beckoned the young professor to him with a nod of his head toward the door. As far as Harry could tell, the gorgeous redhead went largely unnoticed by the other inhabitants of the great hall. Harry quietly excused himself from the table and didn't need to tell his fiancé where he was headed, as Severus was shooting daggers at the fellow Order member. Harry squeezed Severus' shoulder warmly as he passed the older man's chair and whispered "I'll be right back, love."

Harry heard something that sounded like "He better keep his bloody hands off of what isn't his" from his agitated mate, but brushed off the possible irrational sparks of jealously. Harry made his way across the hall towards the unassuming perfect specimen of masculinity that still managed to get his heart beating a little faster.

"What are you doing here, Char?"

"Can't I stop by to visit my favorite seeker, love?" The dragon tamer didn't accept Harry casual greeting and swept the smaller man towards his muscular chest. "I missed you, Harry."

"Missed you too. I can't believe you haven't been home since last Christmas. Last you saw of me I was absolutely enormous."

Charlie relaxed his grip on the younger man, but kept his arm loosely draped around his waist. "You seem to have quickly returned to your gorgeous self."

Harry blushed slightly at the comment and the flirtatious demeanor that was all Charlie. "You have a nephew to meet. You should join us for dinner."

Charlie looked up toward the head table and let out a guffaw. "If I am not mistaken, your son's other father looks like he intends to flay me alive."

"Do you blame him?"

Charlie looked slightly melancholy, but could not restrain a devious looking grin. "Not at all. If he doesn't watch out, you might find yourself back in old habits."

Harry smirked, but replied firmly, "Not likely."

Charlie leaned in towards Harry's ear seductively, "I need to see you alone. Both of you."

Harry pressed himself into the dragon tamer's side and nestled himself in his familiar neck and whispered "2nd floor near the DADA classroom. The entrance to our room is the quidditch painting. The password is _Little Monster_. We'll be up in 15 minutes."

Harry released himself from the red-head's grasp and began to return to his family at the head table, feeling Severus' fiery gaze on him with every step. Sliding back into his seat at the head table, Harry let his hands travel the length of his mate's body and grip his muscular thigh. Harry could feel the jealousy and unbridled need for his lover to claim him pulsating off of Severus.

"Calm down, love. He needs to see both of us. I told him to wait in our quarters."

"If he touches you again, I am going to break his arm."

"As flattering as your need to prove your machismo is, I don't think threatening Charlie Weasley to a physical fight is a wise decision. Regardless, he knows that I'm yours, love. He's known that longer than most."

***

_Flashback_

Breathing heavy and dripping with sweat, Harry took the front steps of the castle briskly after running several miles in the warm early July sun. It was still early, barely even 9AM, but Harry wanted to get some time alone to clear his head with everything that had been going on over the last several weeks. Thoughts of his lover bubbled below the surface, and were all that could dampen the steady stream of fear over the coming battle that made his stomach a bit nauseous. Dressed only in thin gym shorts and trainers, Harry's tan, sculpted chest caused many a witch or wizard in residence in the castle to ogle the Chosen One's obvious assets. As Harry headed to the main staircase to run up to his room to shower, he felt himself pulled into an alcove off the main entry and pressed against the cool, hard stone wall. Before Harry could even take in what was happening, lips descended upon his glistening neck and sent shivers up his spine. Expecting sleek black locks and intense obsidian eyes, Harry was surprised to see a shaggy mane of red curls.

"Hey you, don't blindside a man who has been spending 16 hours a day training to kill. I could have hexed your dick off, Char."

"You are going to want me to have that particular organ, love. Especially when you look so delicious."

Harry casually pushed himself away from the muscular frame and looked into eyes of pure desire. "How you can be looking at me like that I don't know. I just went running and I am disgusting."

"I missed you, baby. It has been _months. _I want you just how you are."

Charlie leaned in sensuously towards the half-naked Gryffindor and went to meet his lips. A feral growl was heard from behind the pair, and Harry didn't have to turn around to realize who had discovered them. He felt his stomach drop and worried about the interplay that was about to occur.

Charlie was the first to speak, as he didn't quite understand his former professor's look of unadulterated fury. "Snape, it is like old times, you catching me snogging in the corner…"

Before Charlie could finish his attempt at good-natured greeting, the icy glare of the Potions Master pierced him. "Potter, do not forget that I don't share."

Harry looked at his lover apologetically. "Sev, I only just walked in. I haven't had a chance…"

"Get your fucking hands off of him, Weasley." Harry could see Severus' eyes unable to focus on anything but the hand rubbing up his bare back.

"Woah, Snape. Cool off. I don't see why you are jumping all over us. Even the Savior needs to get laid."

Harry knew at that moment that his apparently dense friend had gone too far and he wrenched himself from Charlie's arms. The older professor lunged towards the muscular dragon tamer and was only halted by his lover's body pressing against him and backing him away from the redhead.

"Sev, I'm yours. Charlie just got back and we haven't seen each other in months." Harry placed soft kisses on his neck and attempted to calm Severus from flying towards the other man again. "Calm down, love. _I'm yours._" Harry wrapped his arms around the Potions Master to reassure him and a look of absolute shock dawned on the dragon tamer.

Harry gave Charlie a smile, "Sorry I didn't say anything before, Char. We haven't seen each other since Christmas and you don't exactly owl someone on a mission to tell them you can't be friends with benefits anymore. Can I trust that you can keep this to yourself? No one really knows and we need to keep it that way."

Charlie still looked a bit shell-shocked and mildly saddened as he stared at his former lover clinging to the older man. "Yeah, of course, Harry. You know you can trust me."

"Yeah, I know that I can always trust you, Char. Thanks." Harry looked upon his friend warmly and pulled his still enraged lover to leave the alcove and the dazed redhead.

It only took a few minutes for the couple to make their way to Severus' chambers in the dungeons. Harry bit his lip nervously as he didn't know what sort of reaction to expect from the man who had come to mean the world to him. His stomach dropped and Harry worried that Severus' anger would end the fragile start of something real that Harry wasn't quite sure how to describe.

The door to the Potions Master's chambers shut with a little more force than necessary and Harry's stomach lurched. Without a single word, Harry found himself dragged toward the bedroom and his lips claimed fervently. Some of the anxiety Harry felt lessened as the kiss progressed and the passion roared between their bodies. Still shirtless and sweat-covered, Harry was feasted upon by his lover's lips and moaned as each erogenous zone of his body came alive and sung together simultaneously. Without a word, his shorts were ripped from his body and Harry arched into Severus as he was entered roughly. The Potions Master finally allowed their eyes to lock and Harry could see the look of subtle self-doubt that Severus hid in their depths. Harry realized that his lover, his love, was insecure about his claim on the younger man and he put every emotion welling up in his chest into their bond. Harry wrapped his legs around the older man's waist, whispered words of endearment, and pulled Sev's mouth down for a tender kiss.

Harry moaned as his lover's cock brushed the point inside of him that made Harry wild. "Baby, make me come. Only you can make me come like this. Only you can love me like this. Only you…" no further words could be uttered as Harry arched off of the bed and came without a touch to his own member. Severus pushed forward with a few deep thrusts and shuddered his release inside of his young lover.

As the two men came back down to reality from their euphoria, Harry noticed that the older man was still fully dressed and had only just managed to unzip his pants before plunging into his body. Harry moaned deeply into Severus' chest and pulled the Potions Master a little closer.

Harry was not ready to be taken from his post-coital bliss when he heard the timbers of the voice he had come to love and lust over.

"Explain."

Harry knew immediately what was being asked. "Charlie and I used to fool around. A lot."

"Define fool around and how 'used to'?"

Harry knew that he had to tell the truth, despite not wanting to provoke any unnecessary jealously. "Charlie and I were sleeping together on and off since my 5th year. Mostly just summers and holidays when he was around – which really wasn't a lot. We haven't been together since right after Christmas."

Severus felt his chest constrict at the thought of someone else being with his Harry. "Did he take your virginity?"

Harry hesitated briefly but knew that honesty was the best policy. "Yes. He made it special and pleasurable, and I will always remember that night warmly. We were never more than friends though, Sev. I realized that I was attracted to men a few years ago and I didn't want my inexperienced first fumblings to make it directly into the Prophet. Charlie was gay, single, and I trusted him."

Severus sneered, "Not to mention gorgeous, dangerous, and likely completely uninhibited."

Harry chuckled, "That too, I guess. Really, it was lots of fun, but it was nothing." Harry nibbled his lover's ear playfully. "Charlie's the best, don't get me wrong, but we both know that we were never meant to be. Besides, he is such a hardcore top; he never let me be in charge. You know I like to switch it up. Charlie's an incredible guy and we had fun, but he isn't you, love."

"Don't start getting maudlin on me, Potter."

Harry knew that his lover's attempt at humor meant that his frayed nerves had been soothed and calm was achieved, at least temporarily. Resting his head on his former professor's chest, Harry allowed himself to fall asleep to the gentle rhythm of Severus' breath.

***

Reviews, please!! I am hoping to post again during Thanksgiving break! We have some drama on the horizon...


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of these characters (except for Evan), that honor belongs to JKR. Also, if you don't like slash this is not the story for you.

A/N: Can you believe this is chapter 20!! Nuts! Really and truly, thanks so much for all of the reviews. They really inspire me and have helped to mature my writing. xo The Mrs

* * *

Harry placed his sleepy-eyed son in his father's arms as soon as they caught sight of the entrance to their quarters. He wasn't taking any chances with Severus and his former lover in the same room. Harry did not doubt that Severus would try to control his temper with his son in his arms. _Hopefully that works…_

As he entered the room, Harry's eyes bolted between a worried looking Charlie Weasley and a man he hadn't seen since the final battle. Harry couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the unexpected visitor. Before Severus could even enter the room, the blond pounced on him in what Harry would have thought was a very uncharacteristic display.

"Uncle Sev!"

Harry could see his mate's eyes fill with relief and develop the glossy shine of unshed tears.

"Draco…" the stoic Potions Master whispered before he wrapped his unoccupied arm around his godson and pulled him close. "Merlin…where have you been?"

The two held each other as if afraid that the other would disappear the minute they released their embrace. It was only when the occupant of Severus other arm got annoyed with his father's lack of attention and decided to use his first and one of his only words. "Pa!!"

The two men chuckled and relaxed their grip on each other, as Evan looked exasperatingly at his papa.

"Evan, I would like you to meet your godbrother. Can you say hello to Draco?"

The eight month old smiled showing the several teeth that had emerged over the last couple of months and waved a hand in the air.

"I couldn't believe it when I first heard, but he looks exactly like you, Sev. Except for Potter's eyes and nose. Who would have thought you two beasts would make such an adorable baby?" The blond smirked at his godfather and former school rival. "Let's be honest here, who on earth would have thought you would ever end up together?"

Harry smiled at his fiancé knowingly, "Merlin knows how it happened, but I am happy it did. Right, Ev?" The former seeker pulled his son from Severus arms and kissed the top of his head covered in silky black locks. "I'm going and put Evan down for the night. He's had a long day. Kiss Papa goodnight, baby boy."

Evan looked up at his Papa with his big green eyes and Severus was turned to mush. "Pa!" Evan started making kissing faces at his father, which forced their guests to bite their lips to keep from laughing out loud at the rather out of character display before them.

Severus kissed his son on the lips without a second of doubt, "Sleep well, my son. I will see you in the morning."

Evan cooed at his Papa, "Wuv Pa!"

Severus couldn't help but smile at the Evan-speak that had begun over the last several weeks. "I love you too, Evan."

Harry glared at their guests and threatened them with his eyes not to tease the Potions Master. Evan had already begun to rest his head on Harry's shoulder and would soon be drifting off to sleep. Harry stretched up on his toes to kiss Severus lightly and walked out of the living room with their tired child.

Draco couldn't control his glee at seeing his godfather so docile. "Honestly, Uncle Sev. What has Potter done to you? You almost seem…happy."

Sitting with his thoughts for a minute, Severus couldn't help but agree. "Of course I am happy, you daft fool. I have a gorgeous, powerful soon-to-be husband and a beautiful, brilliant child. What is there to be unhappy about?"

If Draco was a girl he would have sighed melodramatically at his godfather's words. Severus had found what he never knew he wanted and Draco always knew that he needed. Severus now had love and acceptance from someone who really understood him. Draco reached toward his godfather again and wrapped his arms around his neck. "I missed you, Uncle Sev."

Severus gave in to the sweet, but almost panicked need for comfort that his godson displayed and patted his back warmly, "Draco, where have you been? I have been worried sick and Dumbledore refused to tell me what you had gotten yourself into. Now you come back here without any warning and are black and blue all over. With a Weasley no less."

Draco looked at Severus with a haunted look in his eyes and said firmly "He found out."

"Who found out what?"

Draco pushed himself away from Severus and sat himself on the sofa a little closer to Charlie than one would think necessary. "My father. He found out about my spying for the light. He has issued an order for my capture – dead or alive."

Severus silently cursed the man he once considered a brother who had lost touch with not only his morals, but his sanity. _How can a man turn against his own child?_

The painfully thin frame of the normally regal looking blond began to shake with silent sobs and Severus moved to comfort him until he saw the hand of the muscular dragon tamer rubbing circles on his godson's back and whispering quietly to him. Severus' thoughts raced in trying to process the interaction before him, but he calmed at the sight of his mate reentering their living room. Harry glanced at the pair on the couch and raised his eyebrows in silent questioning to Severus.

"What's going on, Malfoy? Sev has been trying to get in contact with you for months."

The young Slytherin didn't even attempt to answer Harry's inquiry before Charlie began to speak.

"Dray and I were staying in Romania on the dragon reservation and trying to gather intel from the vampire coven across the woods. It was rumored that Lucius and several other low level Death Eaters were using Karkaroff's connections to try and ingratiate themselves with several powerful groups of dark creatures." The red-head rested his once traveling hand on Draco's thigh casually and continued his explanation. "Dray had contacted his father and arranged for a visit where they were held up in a small village in the mountains. Apparently, Lucius has begun to question all of those in his ranks after he barely got away from the aurors last time and he started interrogating everyone under veritaserum. Draco's firewhiskey was spiked and he didn't hold up to the questioning. I could barely get Draco out of there in one piece. Lucius was brutal."

A weak voice chimed in. "If Charlie hadn't been monitoring me, I would not have survived. I couldn't even see my father in that man's eyes. I think my mother was the only thing grounding him. Now that she is dead, Lucius Malfoy has succumbed to this monster inside of him that lives off power alone. He is going to stop at nothing to track me down. I'm sorry for coming here, Uncle Sev. Charlie convinced me to seek refuge with the Order, but I don't want to put your family at risk."

"Draco, you are my family. Don't ever doubt that." Severus looked at Harry for a nod of agreement before he continued. "You can stay here, Draco. We have an extra room or we can ask Dumbledore to assign you someplace else in the castle. He really should be made aware that you have returned regardless."

Draco looked up at the two men offering him sanctuary with watery eyes. "Thank you. I am worried that the castle isn't safe until the students are gone for the holiday. I know that my father still has connections with some of the older Slytherins, even if I have lost their ear."

"Dray, you can stay at the Burrow with my family. You know that they are going to want to be properly introduced to you sooner or later."

"Charlie, I am not going to put your family in any more danger than they already have experienced. It is enough that I am risking the life of another one of their sons."

Charlie's hand looked to be gripping the young Slytherin's thigh more firmly. "You know that there is nothing you can say that will stop me from trying to protect you, right?"

Draco let out a rather sad sounding huff of resignation and nodded in understanding.

"I am glad I have gotten through that thick Slytherin brain of yours. Your head of house is going to start docking points if you keep acting like a bloody self-sacrificing Gryffindor. Honestly, Dray. You are mine to protect now, and nothing you say or do is going to stop that. We are either staying here or at my parents. _Our_ family will keep us safe."

The blond pureblood rested his head in his hands and was silent for several long minutes as the two raven haired men looked on afraid to break the tense interaction between the two obviously close men.

Finally, Draco sighed and spoke. "Alright, would you mind if Charlie and I stay here in your quarters until the students are gone? We can talk to Professor Dumbledore about different lodging in the morning, but I am too tired to do much of anything tonight."

Harry spoke before his distressed mate could interject. "Of course you both can stay. Charlie and I are practically brothers, in a totally bizarre and incestuous kind way, and you are all the family Sev has left other than Evan and me. As twisted as it may sound, we are family, Malfoy. We take care of each other. Whether you like it or not."

Draco's shoulders dropped as the tension seemed to drain out of him. "Thank you."

"You have to promise me something though, Malfoy."

"There is always a catch with you, Potter. What do you want?" The Slytherin attempted his usual snark, but sounded only weary.

"Stay at least through the new year. We want you to be there when we get married on the 31st. Sev needs his best man and it wouldn't feel the same if you weren't there. _Both of you._"

Charlie looked in Harry's eyes a little longer than was necessary before seeking permission from the older man. "Professor, are you OK with my being here? I know that the last time we were in each other's company, it didn't go so well."

Severus nodded, but kept his edge with the broad-chested, gorgeous Weasley. "You keep your hands off my fiancé and we won't have any problems."

Charlie let out a deep rumble of laughter that still had the power to curl Harry's toes. "Don't worry, Professor. I have somewhere else to put my hands now." Charlie couldn't hold back his devilish smirk.

Severus nodded, but stared at him with his typical look of distain. "As I have noticed, Mr. Weasley. We may need to have a conversation about your intentions with my godson."

Draco rolled his eyes dramatically, despite his heart secretly warming the idea of being loved and cared for by a parent again. "Uncle Sev, please don't torment Charlie. As much as I enjoy it myself, I don't think he can handle your unique brand of torture."

"We'll see, Draco. For now, let's get you two set up in Teddy's room. We only have a twin bed in there, so you will have to transfigure a bit of extra furniture and ignore the overflow of toys. The children in our life are apparently spoiled rotten by Weasleys."

"That is an understatement if I have ever heard one. If there is one thing Weasleys cherish, adore, and spoil it is our children." Charlie winked at Draco and saw a look of hope for the future in his boyfriend's eyes.

"Professor, Harry, thank you for letting us stay with you. If we had gone to the Burrow there would have been a lot of questions that we were not ready to answer."

"Mr. Weasley, I think that since you are sharing a bedroom with my godson and I don't even want to think of what past history you have with my future husband, you can call me Severus."

"Thank you. You are obviously welcome to call my Charlie, sir. Though I know that screaming out 'Weasley' at any red-head in the vicinity tends to be a more efficient method of identification."

Harry couldn't help but feel elated at the lessening of tension between Severus and his former flame. Both were important to his life and clearly extremely important to the exhausted looking blond pureblood that sat slumped on his sofa.

"Come on, Dray. Let's put you to bed and I promise you can sleep as late as you want." Charlie purred to his boyfriend as he pulled him off the couch by the hand.

Harry and Severus chuckled together knowingly at that comment, before Harry let them in on the secret. "You may want to put up silencing charms if you intend to sleep later than 6:30. Evan is an early riser and he likes me to sing while I make breakfast."

"Trust me, silencing charms _are_ required." Severus teased back at Harry and grabbed him around the waist playfully.

"Hey!" Harry smacked his lover lightly in jest. "I would like you to know that your son likes my singing."

"He tries to eat his feet. He is not discriminating, love."

The two couples laughed good naturedly at the typical banter between the engaged couple, before showing the others who were nearly dead on their feet to their room.

After checking to ensure that Evan was still sleeping peacefully, Harry quietly closed the heavy wooden door of their bedroom and let out a breath that he didn't know that he was holding.

"Do you think he is going to be alright, Sev?"

Harry could see the tension sitting in the lines between the Potions Master's eyes. "I don't know, love. He now has the protection of some of the most powerful wizards in the world, all of which live under this roof. I just hope that is enough to keep him safe from Lucius' insanity."

"I know that we don't talk about my abilities a lot, but you know that I can protect him, Sev. I promise you that I will do whatever needs to be done to keep him safe."

Sev nodded and leaned his forehead onto Harry's firm chest, seeking out the scent and warmth of his love. "You are the strongest wizard in the world. As much as we don't discuss it, you are the most capable person of keeping him safe from the maniac that Lucius Malfoy has become. I don't have to like it, but I know it is true. Regardless of how powerful you may be, _I _still want to keep _you _safe_. _Our son needs you." _I need you._

"Let's just worry about getting married right now Sev. Your godson is here to stand beside you, and I for one cannot wait to be your husband." Harry placed a tender kiss to his former professor's neck and continued his soothing words. "The students leave in two days and then we have two whole weeks to enjoy time together and with our family. Lucius will not ruin that._" _

Severus allowed Harry to pull him off of the bed gently and lead him by the hand to their enjoining bathroom. Stripping the tall, slim professor, Harry filled the tub with warm water and the essence of sandalwood permeated the steam. No words were needed as Harry guided his lover into the water and slowly released the tension from his body. _No one will harm my family. Lucius Malfoy will pay for threatening those we love, if that is the last thing he does. _


End file.
